According to the poem, the mice would frighten the people in the house first, especially the woman of the house (the mistress/housewife), who would scream and panic at the very sight of them.

Quick Scoop: What the poem says

In the commonly taught school poem “Mice” (Class 6 English in many boards), the speaker imagines what would happen if mice suddenly came into the house.

The poet says that:

  • The mice would first frighten the people living in the house.
  • In particular, they would scare the lady of the house, who would jump, shout, or cry out in fear.

So, when your textbook asks, “Whom would the mice frighten first according to the poem?”, the expected answer is:

They would frighten the people in the house first, especially the mistress/housewife.

TL;DR: The mice would first frighten the people of the house, mainly the woman of the house.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.