NCERT Solutions Class 10 English Chapter 9 The Tale of Custard the Dragon Poem

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English for The Tale of Custard the Dragon Poem 

Thinking about the Poem

1. Who are the characters in this poem? List them with their pet names.
Answer
The characters in this poem are Belinda, a little black kitten, a little grey mouse, a little yellow dog, a little pet dragon and a pirate.

3. “Belinda tickled him, she tickled him unmerciful...” Why? 
Answer
Belinda tickled the dragon unmercifully because it was very scared and cried for a safe cage. They all laughed at it as it was a coward.

4. The poet has employed many poetic devices in the poem. For example: “Clashed his tail like iron in a dungeon” − the poetic device here is a simile. Can you, with your partner, list some more such poetic devices used in the poem?
Answer
In the entire poem, the poet has made extensive use of similes. Apart from simile, another poetic device that has been used is repetition. For example, the repetitive use of the word ‘little’ in the first stanza to emphasise how everything from the house to Belinda to her pets were all little. Also, in the seventh stanza, the poet has made use of incorrect spelling as a poetic device to maintain the rhyme scheme of the poem. He has chosen to write ‘winda’ instead of ‘window’ as ‘winda’ rhymes with ‘Belinda’, whereas ‘window’ does not. He has also used alliteration in the poem. For example, in the tenth stanza, ‘Custard’ has ‘clashed’ his tail with a ‘clatter’ and a ‘clank’. Similarly, in stanza eleven, the pirate ‘gaped’ at the dragon and ‘gulped’ some ‘grog’.

5. Read stanza three again to know how the poet describes the appearance of the dragon.
Answer:
Do it yourself.

6. Can you find out the rhyme scheme of two or three stanzas of the poem?
Answer
The rhyme scheme of each stanza of this poem is aabb.

7. Writers use words to give us a picture or image without actually saying what they mean. Can you trace some images used in the poem?
Answer
Some such images used in the poem are ‘mouth like a fireplace’, ‘chimney for a nose’, ‘brave as a barrel full of bears’, ‘brave as a tiger in a rage’, ‘went at the pirate like a robin at a worm’, etc.

8. Do you find The Tale of Custard the Dragon to be a serious or a light-hearted poem? Give reasons to support your answer.
Answer
The Tale of Custard the Dragon is a light-hearted poem. It is almost a parody. The names of the pets of Belinda are all rhyming and funny. Belinda has been compared to a barrel full of bears. The kitten and mouse, both little, could chase lions down the stairs. The little yellow dog was as brave as a tiger, while the dragon was a coward and they all teased him. However, when the pirate came to their little house, all of them were engulfed in fear and had hid themselves. Ironically, the ‘cowardly’ dragon came to their rescue and jumped snorting like an engine. It clashed its tail and charged at the pirate like a robin at a worm and ate him up. Even as everybody became happy to see the bravery of the dragon, they again came back to glorifying themselves that they could have been twice or thrice braver than the dragon. Finally, at the end of the poem, the situation again came back to the other pets being brave and the dragon being the coward.

The Tale of Custard the Dragon Poem Summary Class 10 English

Belinda lived in a little white house,
With a little black kitten and a little gray mouse,
And a little yellow dog and a little red wagon,
And a realio, trulio, little pet dragon.
Now the name of the little black kitten was Ink,
And the little gray mouse, she called her Blink,
And the little yellow dog was sharp as Mustard,
But the dragon was a coward, and she called him Custard.

Custard the dragon had big sharp teeth,
And spikes on top of him and scales underneath,
Mouth like a fireplace, chimney for a nose,
And realio, trulio, daggers on his toes.

Belinda was as brave as a barrel full of bears,
And Ink and Blink chased lions down the stairs,
Mustard was as brave as a tiger in a rage,
But Custard cried for a nice safe cage.

Belinda tickled him, she tickled him unmerciful,
Ink, Blink and Mustard, they rudely called him Percival,
They all sat laughing in the little red wagon
At the realio, trulio, cowardly dragon.

Belinda giggled till she shook the house,
And Blink said Week!, which is giggling for a mouse,
Ink and Mustard rudely asked his age,
When Custard cried for a nice safe cage.

Suddenly, suddenly they heard a nasty sound,
And Mustard growled, and they all looked around.
Meowch! cried Ink, and Ooh! cried Belinda,
For there was a pirate, climbing in the winda.

Pistol in his left hand, pistol in his right,
And he held in his teeth a cutlass bright,
His beard was black, one leg was wood;
It was clear that the pirate meant no good.

Belinda paled, and she cried, Help! Help!
But Mustard fled with a terrified yelp,
Ink trickled down to the bottom of the household,
And little mouse Blink was strategically mouseholed.

But up jumped Custard, snorting like an engine,
Clashed his tail like irons in a dungeon,
With a clatter and a clank and a jangling squirm
He went at the pirate like a robin at a worm.

The pirate gaped at Belinda’s dragon,
And gulped some grog from his pocket flagon,
He fired two bullets but they didn’t hit,
And Custard gobbled him, every bit.

Belinda embraced him, Mustard licked him,
No one mourned for his pirate victim
Ink and Blink in glee did gyrate
Around the dragon that ate the pirate.

Belinda still lives in her little white house,
With her little black kitten and her little gray mouse,
And her little yellow dog and her little red wagon,
And her realio, trulio, little pet dragon.

Belinda is as brave as a barrel full of bears,
And Ink and Blink chase lions down the stairs,
Mustard is as brave as a tiger in a rage,
But Custard keeps crying for a nice safe cage.

GIST OF THE POEM:
This poem is a fantasy in verse about Belinda, who lives alone in her house with her four pets. These are a little kitten Ink, a grey coloured mouse Blink, a little yellow-coloured dog Mustard and a dragon Custard. All the people of the house pride themselves on their fearlessness and bravery. They believe the games, and they look down upon poor Custard for his timidity.
The theme of the poem is that everyone has his own capabilities and should never be judged on the basis of his appearance. In the poem, Belinda and all pets she owns boast about their bravery. Belinda is as strong as barrel full of bears, Ink and Blink were brave and fearless enough to chase down lions down the stairs and Mustard considered itself as brave as an angry tiger.
However, Custard never boasted about its might and power and instead always cried for nice and safe cage. Hence Belinda and all her pets used to make joke of Custard. They would tease him mercilessly and call him bad names. But Custard never reacted and rather accepted what they said. But, when the pirate attacks the house of Belinda, all the so-called brave animals run away to save their lives though Belinda keeps crying for help. At this time, Custard comes forward at once and faces the pirate. The pirate tries to kill him by firing bullets. However, they do not hit him and Custard eats him up.
The story tells us that we should never judge a person on the basis of his looks or what others say about him. Every person is unique and capable in his own way.

IMPORTANT POINTS:
➢ ‘The Tale of Custard the Dragon’ is a funny poem that tells the story of a little girl Belinda and her pets. Belinda lives with her little pets, a kitten, a mouse, a dog and a dragon, in her little house.
➢ Belinda and all her pets except the dragon have been described as very brave creatures. Even the mouse and the kitten have been shown to be so brave that they can chase lions but the dragon is such a coward, that it is always looking for the safety of a cage.
➢ The dragon, however, surprised everyone with his heroic act of killing a pirate, who had come to Belinda’s house and meant harm to her and her pets. ➢ All the bravery of Belinda and rest of her pets failed and they ran screaming for help but the dragon, whom everyone thought was a coward, rescued them from the pirate.

STRUCTURE AND FORM:
• The Tale of Custard the Dragon’ by Ogden Nash is a poem written in the ballad form. However, the humorous elements in the poem make it an ideal example of a parody.
• Nash through this poem tries to give a moral lesson. Hence, it is also an example of a fable. In a fable, inanimate objects or animals can speak and each character represents a humanly quality like one can find in an allegorical poem.
• There are a total of 15 stanzas in the poem each having four lines in it. Only the 13th stanza contains six lines. The rhyme scheme of the poem is AABB and it goes on like this.
• This rhyme scheme is also known as a regular rhyme scheme and Nash preferred this rhyming pattern while composing his “light poetry”.
• Moreover, the poet uses the rhyme scheme for creating a humorous effect in the poem. The punning quality of the rhyming words also presents irony.
• Apart from that, the metrical scheme of the poem doesn’t follow the form of a ballad. It is composed of a mixed meter scheme.
• The lines of the poem are mostly composed of the iambic meter with a few variations of the trochaic meter. Moreover, the poet uses spondees in the poem.

POETIC DEVICES:
a. Metaphor: In this poem, the poet uses the device of metaphor in the 3rd line of the 3rd stanza when he compares the dragon's nose with a chimney.
b. Personification: In this poem, the poet uses the device of personification with respect to Belinda's kitten, mouse, and dog.
c. Simile: ‘like a fireplace’, ‘as brave as a tiger’.
d. Refrain: Repetition of a sentence again and again (And a realio, trulio,)
e. Onomatopoeia: usage of sound words to create a dramatic effect (giggled, weeck)