About the Poet:
This poem is written by an American poet, Ogden Nash
(1902-1971). He was famous for his light verse and humorous poetry.
Introduction:
This poem is about a little girl Belinda. Belinda has a
black kitten named ink, a grey mouse named blink, a yellow dog named mustard, and a
coward dragon named custard. All the pets and Belinda are described as brave except
the dragon. Custard, the dragon is a coward. Their true character is revealed
when a pirate attacks Belinda’s house. No one dares to face the pirate. It is
the dragon that kills the pirate. All the characters are relieved and happy
because they are saved by the dragon. However, they soon change their minds and
convince themselves to be more daring and stronger. They blame the situation
and say that it confused them.
Summary:
This poem tells us the tale of custard the dragon is a
ballad. It is a humorous poem about a cowardly dragon named custard. Custard is
a pet of Belinda, a little girl who lives in a little white house with her other
pets. She had a black kitten named ink, a grey mouse named blink, a yellow dog
mustard, and a cowardly dragon custard.
The poet says that all of them are very brave except the
dragon. Others are described as brave. They are compared with animals like
bear, tiger or lion. The dragon is very timid. He always asks for a safe place
for himself. All the other characters make fun of him for his cowardice.
But one night they are shocked by the entry of a pirate in
the house. All of them are afraid and start hiding here and there. But to
everyone’s surprise, the dragon not only tackles the pirate but also eats him
up. As all of them are saved by custard, they thank him. Soon they realized
that till now, they are making fun of the dragon. So, they start saying that
they are braver and could have handled the situation in a much better way.
Here the poet has tried to say that sometimes a timid person is the actual hero
in the toughest situations of life.
Meanings:
Wagon: a vehicle used for transporting
goods or another specified purpose
Mustard: a yellow coloured flower
Coward: weakling
Spikes: thin pointed surfaces
Scales: Thin bony plates protecting the
skin of fish and reptiles
Underneath: situated directly below
Fire place: a structure of brick, stone
or metal for an open fire
Dagger: A sharp knife
Barrel: drum
Chased: hunt, follow
Rage: anger
Tickled: stroke, here it means to tease
Unmerciful: cruel, without mercy
Percival: A knight in King Arthur’s
court
Giggled: to laugh
Weeck: a sound made by a mouse
Nasty: bad or unpleasant
Growled: bark
Pirate: A person who robs ship in the sea
Winda: a term for window
Pistol: a handgun
Cutlass: a short sword with a curved blade.
Paled: turn yellow due to fear
Yelp: a short sharp cry
Trickle: to flow, to run
Strategically: planned
Mouseholed:
here it is the hole where the mouse lives
Snorting: make a sudden explosive sound through
one’s nose
Clashed: fought
Dungeon: underground prison
Clatter Clank, Jangling squirm: the sound of hard objects falling on each other
Robin: A bird
Gaped: stared with mouth wide open
Gulped: swallowed
Grog: a drink
Flagon: a container made of silver in which drink
is stored, a flask
Gobbled: swallowed hurriedly
Embraced: to hug
Mourned: feel sorrow for the death of someone
Victim: sufferer
Glee: delight
Gyrate: danced
Flustered: upset or confused
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Stanza |
Meaning/Literary
Devices |
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Stanza 1 Belinda lived in a little white house, With a little black kitten and a little grey mouse, And a little yellow dog and a little red wagon, And a realio, trulio, little pet dragon.
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A girl named Belinda lived in a little white house.
She lived with some creatures who were her pets. They were a black kitten, a
grey mouse, a yellow dog, a little red wagon, and a dragon. Literary Devices: Rhyme scheme: aabb (house-mouse, wagon-dragon) Repetition: use of the word ‘little’ oxymoron: use of two words with opposite meanings “pet
dragon” Anaphora: repeated use of word at the start of two
consecutive lines. (And a little ….And a realio) Refrain: Repetition of a sentence again and again
(And a realio, trulio,) poetic license: realio, trulio for real, true. The
spellings have been changed to create a musical effect. |
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Stanza 2 Now the name of the little black kitten was Ink, And the little grey mouse, she called him Blink, And the little yellow dog was sharp as Mustard, But the dragon was a coward, and she called him
Custard.
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The name of all the animals that are tamed by Belinda. He says that
the name of black kitten is ink. The name of grey mouse is blink. The little
yellow dog had yellow colour and so she calls him mustard and the dragon, a
coward was called custard. Literary Devices: Rhyme scheme: aabb (ink-blink, mustard-custard) simile: dog compared to mustard “And the little yellow dog was sharp
as Mustard” Alliteration: “coward, and she called him Custard” - “c” sound Anaphora: repeated use of word at the start of two consecutive lines
(And the little grey…And the little yellow) Repetition: use of word little |
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Stanza 3 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.
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The dragon had big sharp teeth and spikes on top. On
the lower part it had scales. His mouth was compared to a fireplace and his
nose was compared to a chimney. His
feet were like sharp knives. Rhyme scheme: aabb (teeth-underneath, nose-toes) Simile: Dragon’s mouth is compared with fireplace
(mouth like a fireplace) Refrain: Repetition of a sentence again and again
(And a realio, trulio,) Metaphor: “chimney for a nose”. The nose is like a
chimney. |
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Stanza 4 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.
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Belinda was as brave as a group of bears and ink and blink were so
brave that they could hunt lions. The dog was also very brave just like an
angry tiger. Custard, the dragon was not brave. He was so afraid of
everything that he always demanded a safe cage. Rhyme scheme: aabb (bears-stairs, rage-cage) Alliteration: Belinda was as brave as a barrel full of bears “b”
sound is repeated Simile: Belinda’s bravery is compared to that of a barrel full of
bears (as a barrel full of bears), Mustard’s bravery is compared to that of
an angry tiger (Mustard was as brave as a tiger in a rage) Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘a’ (Belinda was as brave as a barrel
full of bears) |
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Stanza 5 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.
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Belinda used to tease the dragon without mercy. Ink, blink and mustard made fun of him by
comparing him to a knight named Percival who was thought to be brave but ran
away due to lack of courage. They used to tease the dragon while sitting in
their little red wagon. Rhyme scheme: aabb (unmerciful-Percival,
wagon-dragon) Refrain: Repetition of a sentence again and again
(And a realio, trulio,) Repetition: use of the word ‘tickled him’ Allusion: reference to any person or place
(Percival) Personification: Ink, Blink and Mustard, they rudely
called him Percival |
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Stanza 6 Belinda giggled till she shook the house, And Blink said Weeck! which is giggling for a
mouse, Ink and Mustard rudely asked his age, When Custard cried for a nice safe cage.
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The poet says that Belinda used to laugh so loudly that her voice
echoed in the house. Blink, the mouse used to laugh and make a sound of
weeck. On the other hand, ink and mustard would tease him by asking the
dragon his age whenever he used to demand for a nice safe cage. Rhyme scheme: aabb (house-mouse, rage-cage) Onomatopoeia: usage of sound
words to create a dramatic effect (giggled, weeck) Repetition: Custard cried for a nice safe cage (used in stanza 4) |
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Stanza 7 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
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Suddenly, they heard a sound of someone entering the
house. They saw a pirate climbing up the wall. The dog barked at him and the
kitten meowed to him. Belinda cried ‘ooh’ because all of them were scared of
the pirate. Rhyme scheme: aabb (sound-around, Belinda-winda) Consonance: use of consonant sound ‘s’ (Suddenly,
suddenly they heard a nasty sound) Onomatopoeia:
usage of sound words to create a dramatic effect (Mustard growled,
Meowch, cried ink) Poetic license: window is written as ‘winda’ to
create rhyme. Repetition: suddenly |
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Stanza 8 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 . |
The pirate was holding handguns in both his hands and had a little
sword too. He was holding his sword with his teeth. He had a black beard and
his one leg was made of wood. It was clear that his intentions were not good. Rhyme scheme: aabb (right- bright, wood- good) Alliteration: beard was black “b”, he held his “h” Imagery: An image is created about the appearance of the pirate. |
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Stanza 9 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 strategically mouseholed
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All of them were frightened. Belinda was so
frightened that she turned yellow due to fear and started crying for help.
Mustard the dog started crying for help too. The kitten ink ran down towards
the bottom of the house. The mouse Bink ran into his little mouse hole. Rhyme scheme: aabb (help-yelp, household –
mousehold) transferred epithet: terrified yelp Repetition: help help Poetic license: use of the word mousehold to rhyme
with household |
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Stanza 10 But up jumped Custard, snorting like an engine, dragon 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.
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The dragon jumped onto the pirate and made such a strong sound with
his nose as if an engine was producing a sound. He hit his tail on the ground
with great force that it made a heavy metallic sound made in an underground
prison. He attacked the pirate just like robin bird that attacks the worms. Rhyme scheme: aabb (engine-dungeon, squirm-worm) Simile: sound of dragon is compared with sound of engine (snorting
like an engine), Clashed his tail like irons in a dungeon, dragon’s attack on
pirate is compared to robin bird (like a robin at a worm) Onomatopoeia: usage of sound
words to create a dramatic effect (clatter, clank, jangling) Imagery: The attack by the dragon is expressed in a way to make an
image in our minds. |
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Stanza 11 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.
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The pirate opened his mouth wide with shock. To
gather some strength, he drank some alcohol from a container in his pocket.
After gathering some courage, he fired two bullets on the dragon but missed
it. Custard the dragon ate every bit of this fierce looking pirate. Rhyme scheme: aabb (dragon-flagon, hit-bit) alliteration: gulped some grog “g” Imagery: They have shown the reaction and actions
made by the pirate on seeing the dragon. |
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Stanza 12 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.
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When the pirate was dead, Belinda hugged the dragon and mustard
licked him. No one was sad for the death of the pirate, they all were happy.
Both ink and blink were running around the dragon in happiness. Rhyme scheme: aabb (him-victim, gyrate-pirate) alliteration: glee did gyrate “g” Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘o’ (no one mourned for), use of vowel
sound ‘I’ (ink and blink in glee did), use of vowel sound ‘a’ (that ate the pirate) |
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Stanza 13 But presently up spoke little dog Mustard, I’d have been twice as brave if I hadn’t been
flustered. And up spoke Ink and up spoke Blink, We’d have been three times as brave, we think, And Custard said, I quite agree That everybody is braver than me. |
After they thanked and showed their love towards the
dragon, they changed their mind. Soon, the dog said that it was just because
of some confusion that he wasn’t able to do anything otherwise he would have
been twice as brave as custard. Both ink and blink also said that they would
have been three times braver than custard. To this, the dragon said that he
fully agreed to this that all of them were more powerful and braver than him. Rhyme scheme: aabb (mustard-flustered, blink-ink,
agree-me) |
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Stanza 14 Belinda still lives in her little white house, With her little black kitten and her little grey
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 |
At last, the poet used the same lines again to show that after this
terrific episode in which the dragon was the hero where all the other
characters still undermined him by saying that they were more powerful than
him and could have handled the situation in a much better way. Belinda still
lives in that little white house with ink, blink, mustard and custard and all
of them are very brave whereas the dragon is still a coward who always wants
to stay safe in his cage. Refrain: Repetition of a sentence again and again (And a realio,
trulio) Repetition: stanza has been repeated |
Thinking about the poem (132)
1. Who are the characters in this poem? List them with their
pet names.
The characters in this poem are Belinda, a little girl, and
her pets: a little black kitten, a little grey mouse, a little yellow dog, a
little pet dragon and a pirate. The names are as follow: kitten - Ink, mouse -
Blink, dog - Mustard and dragon - Custard.
2. Why did Custard cry for a nice safe cage? Why is the
dragon called “cowardly dragon”?
Custard cried for a nice safe cage he wanted to be safe. He
was a coward and was scared very easily. He was called “cowardly dragon” as
everyone else in the house was very brave and he was the only one, who feared a
lot. Belinda is as brave as a barrel full of bears, Ink and Blink can chase
lions and Mustard is as brave as an angry tiger.
3. “Belinda tickled him, she tickled him unmerciful…” Why?
Tickling always works on people, who are a little softer.
So, Belinda tickled the dragon unmerciful as it worked a lot on him. Despite
being a dragon, a tickling could disturb him and this showed his cowardice on
which everyone laughed.
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?
In the poem, ‘The tale of Custard, the Dragon’, the poet has
used a lot of poetic devices. Following are the devices used
1. Simile: mouth like a fireplace
2. Repetition: the repetitive use of the word ‘little’ in
stanza 1.
5. Read stanza three again to know how the poet describes
the appearance of the dragon.
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.
6. Can you find out the rhyme scheme of two or three stanzas
of the poem?
The rhyme scheme of the 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?
Writers always use such phrases and words that do not tell
us directly about what they mean but always give us an indication of the
meaning. Such words or phrases are used to trigger our own imagination in
painting the picture that they mean. Use of such images in the poem is the
following: ‘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.
‘The Tale of Custard the Dragon’ is a very light and funny
poem meant to be enjoyed by everyone. The way the poem has been written with a
fix rhyme scheme, makes it very easy and enjoyable to read. The poet has even
used wrong spelling to maintain the rhyme scheme. The features of Belinda and
her pets described in the poem make it quite funny. All the tiny creatures such
as the kitten and the mouse have been shown as brave. The biggest of them all,
the dragon is the only one, who has been shown as a coward and soft being, who
looks for a cage for himself. It is very ironic and makes the poem funny.
