The short play The Little Man by John Galsworthy contains three scenes with three different settings. The play is composed as a farce to satirize people of various nationalities, exaggerating their characteristics in a humorous manner.

The play opens on a platform of an Austrian railroad station. There is a little restaurant at the station, and people are sitting at several tables outside while a harried waiter tries to fulfill all their desires. A poor woman sits nearby with two bundles and her infant. The characters of various nationalities interact with the waiter and each other as one Little Man, who seems to be an "everyman" character and is a blend of nationalities, observes the others.

The second scene takes place on the train in a second-class carriage where the characters have gathered again. Once more, the author satirizes the ethnic differences in the characters while the Little Man cares for the poor woman's baby, which seems to be ill.

In the third scene, the train has arrived at its destination, and the travelers get off onto the arrival platform. A station official and a policemen arrive and accuse the Little Man of stealing the baby. The mix-up is sorted out in the end, and the author has made his point about nationalities and common folk.