THE TALE OF CUSTARD THE DRAGON

About the Author- Ogden Nash

Ogden Nash was born on 19 August 1902 in New York. He worked as a school teacher before
becoming a copywriter. Nash’s first poems were published in ‘New Yorker’ in 1930. His first
collection of poems entitled ‘Hard Lines’ was published in 1931. ‘The Boy Who Laughed at
Santa Claus’ (1957) and ‘Girls are Silly’ (1962) are among his famous books. Nash is perhaps
best remembered for his ‘no-sense poetry’. Nash died on 19 May 1971.

Value Points of the Poem

1. Belinda lived in a little white house.

2. She lived there with her pets.

3. Her pets contained a black kitten, Ink, a grey mouse, Blink, a yellow dog, Mustard and a
dragon named Custard.

4. All other pets were considered sharp and brave.

5. Only Custard was considered as a coward who always ‘cried for a nice safe cage.

6. ‘ The dragon had sharp teeth. There were spikes on top and scales beneath him. He spat fire
and had daggers on his toes.

7. Belinda and her pets mocked Custard for his timidity.

8. Suddenly, they saw a pirate climbing up through the window.

9. The pirate had a pistol in each hand and a dagger in his mouth.

10. His beard was black and one of the legs was of wood.

11. Belinda turned pale on seeing the pirate and cried for help.

12. The dog Mustard fled crying. Ink hid himself and the little mouse Blink disappeared in the
mousehole.

13. But Custard jumped up at the pirate attacking him with his iron tail.

14.. He pounced upon the pirate, killed and swallowed him within no time.
15. Belinda embraced Custard. Mustard licked him. Ink and Blink danced around him.

16. Then, everyone started bragging again of his bravery forgetting the bravery shown by
Custard.

17. Custard agreed that everybody was braver than him.

18. Belinda is still considered as brave as ‘a barrel full of bears’. All her pets, except Custard, are
considered sharp and brave.

19. Only Custard is mocked at for his timidity and lack of courage.

Stanza 1

i. Repetition - The word little has been repeated.

ii. Oxymoron - There is use of two words with opposite meanings together - pet dragon.

iii. Anaphora - It is the repetition of a word at the start of two or more consecutive lines - (And a
little yellow dog and a little red wagon,

And a realio, trulio, little pet dragon).

iv. Poetic license - The spellings have been changed to create a rhythmic effect - realio, trulio
instead of really and truly.

Stanza 2

i. Simile - The dog has been compared to mustard using as - And the little yellow dog was sharp
as Mustard.

ii. Alliteration - It is the repetition of a letter at the start of closely placed words. The repetition
of the letter 'c' in coward, and she called him Custard.

iii. Anaphora - It is the repetition of a word at the start of two or more consecutive lines - (And
the little grey mouse, she called him Blink,

And the little yellow dog was sharp as Mustard)

iv. Repetition - The word "little" has been repeated.

Stanza 3

i. Simile - The poet has compared Dragons mouth with fireplace - mouth like a fireplace.

ii. Refrain - There is repetition of the sentence - And a realio, trulio.

iii. Metaphor - The poet has compared the dragon's nose with a chimney - chimney for a nose.

Stanza 4

i. Alliteration - It is the repetition of a letter at the start of closely placed words. The repetition of
the letter b in Belinda was as brave as a barrel full of bears.

ii. Simile - 1. The poet has compared Belinda's bravery to that of a barrel full of bears by using
as - as a barrel full of bears.

2. The poet has compared Mustards bravery to that of an angry tiger using as - Mustard was as
brave as a tiger in a rage.

iii. Assonance - Prominent sound of the vowel 'a' - Belinda was as brave as a barrel full of bears.

Stanza 5

i. Refrain - There is repetition of the sentence - And a realio, trulio.

ii. Repetition - The words tickled him have been repeated.

iii. Allusion - Reference to a famous person, animal species or thing - Percival.

iv. Personification - The poet has personified Ink, Blink and Mustard, by giving them the ability
to speak - They rudely called him Percival.

Stanza 6

i. Onomatopoeia - The poet has used these words which are associated with sound - giggled and
weeck.

ii. Refrain - There is repetition of the sentence - "Custard cried for a nice safe cage."

Stanza 7

i. Consonance - The prominent sound of 's' in "Suddenly, suddenly they heard a nasty sound."
ii. Onomatopoeia - The poet has used these words which are associated with sound - Mustard
growled, Meowch, cried ink.

iii. Poetic license - The poet has changed the spelling of window to winda to create rhyme.

iv. Repetition - The poet has repeated the word suddenly.

v. Alliteration - It is the repetition of a letter at the start of closely placed words. The repetition of
the letter 's' in "Suddenly, suddenly they heard a nasty sound."

Stanza 8

i. Alliteration - It is the repetition of a letter at the start of closely placed words. The repetition of
the letter -

1. B in "beard was black."

2. H in "he held his."

ii. Imagery - The poet has given the visual description of the pirate.

iii. Repetition - The word pistol has been repeated.

Stanza 9

i. Transferred epithet - When the adjective used is not for the word next to it but for some other
noun in the sentence - terrified yelp. Here, terrified was used for Mustard, not for yelp.

ii. Repetition - The word help has been repeated.

iii. Poetic license - The poet has used the word mouseholed to make it rhyme with household.

iv. Assonance - 1. Prominent sound of the vowel 'e' in - "Belinda paled, and she cried Help!
Help!"

2. Prominent sound of the vowel 'o' in - "down to the bottom of the household."

Stanza 10

i. Simile - The poet has compared -

1. the sound of the dragon with the sound of an engine using like - snorting like an engine.
 2. Dragons tail with irons - Clashed his tail like irons in a dungeon.

3. dragons attack to a robin bird - like a robin at a worm.

ii. Onomatopoeia - The poet has used these words which are associated with sound - clatter,
clank, jangling.

iii. Imagery - The attack by the dragon is expressed in a way to make an image in our minds.

iv. Assonance - Prominent sound of the vowel 'a' in - "With a clatter and a clank and a jangling
squirm."

v. Consonance - Prominent sound of the consonant 'l' - "clatter and a clank and a jangling
squirm."

Stanza 11

i. Alliteration - It is the repetition of a letter at the start of closely placed words. The repetition of
the letter 'g' in "gulped some grog."

ii. Imagery - The poet has given a visual description of the whole scene.

Stanza 12

i. Alliteration - It is the repetition of a letter at the start of closely placed words. The repetition of
the letter 'g' in "glee did gyrate."

ii. Assonance - 1. Prominent sound of the vowel sound 'o' - "no one mourned for."

2. Prominent use of the vowel 'i' - "ink and blink in glee did."

3. Prominent use of the vowel 'a' in "that ate the pirate."

Stanza 13

i. Repetition - Up spoken has been repeated.

ii. Consonance - Prominent sound of t - But presently up spoke little dog Mustard.

iii. Assonance - Prominent sound of e -

1. have been twice as brave if I hadn't been flustered.

 2. We'd have been three times as brave, we think.

Stanza 14

i. Refrain - Repetition of the sentence - And a realio, trulio.

ii. Repetition - The whole stanza has been repeated.

Reference to Context

Read the following passages and answer the questions that follow:

1. Belinda still lives in her little white house,

With a little black kitten and her little grey mouse,
And a little yellow dog and her little wagon,
And her regalia, truly little pet dragon.
(a) To whom do the pets belong?
(b) Identify the poetic device used in the above lines.
(c) How many pets did Belinda have?
(d) What is the rhyme scheme in the stanza?

2. “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.”
(a) Who is ‘Mustard’ in the above lines?
(b) What did Custard generally cry for?
(c) Who are the characters in the above lines? List them with their pet names.
(d) What is the rhyme scheme of the above stanza?

3. 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 regalia, truly, cowardly dragon.
(a) Who was Belinda?
(b) Why did Belinda and the other pets laugh at the dragon?
(c) Who are Ink and Blink?
(d) Why did they make fun of the dragon?

Short Answer Type Questions (20-30 words)

1. Give a brief description of the pirate in the poem The Tale of Custard the Dragon’.

2. How did they say their admiration for the dragon after the death of the pirate?

Long Answer Type Questions ( 50-60 words)

1. Belinda and the other animals have been described as brave. But on seeing the pirate they
behaved in a cowardly way. How did they react?

2. Describe the outward appearance of Custard, the dragon. Why did he always cry for a
nice safe cage?

HOTS (60-80 words)

1. In spite of being so powerful and displaying rare bravery of killing and swallowing the
pirate, why does the dragon Custard taunt as being a coward always asking for a nice safe
cage?