Extracts of The Tale of Custard The Dragon | Class 10 | English |
Table of Contents
Extracts of The Tale of Custard The Dragon by Ogden Nash, Class 10, English
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.
Q1. Name the poem.
Ans : The Tale of Custard The Dragon
Q2. Who is the author of The Tale of Custard The Dragon?
Ans : Ogden Nash
Q3. What is the rhyme scheme of The Tale of Custard The Dragon?
Ans : AABB
Q4. Which poetic device has been used in the last two lines of this stanza?
Ans : Anaphora
Q5. Which poetic device has been used in ‘Pet dragon’?
Ans : Oxymoron
Related
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.
Q1. Whom did Belinda live with?
Ans : Belinda lived with her pets namely; Black kitten, grey mouse, yellow dog, a dragon and a red wagon in her home.
Q2. What were the names of Belinda’s pets?
Ans : Belinda had four pets. Their names were Ink (Kitten), Blink (Mouse), Mustard (Dog) and Custrad (Dragon).
Q3. What was the name given to dragon by Belinda?
Ans : Belinda called her dragon ‘Coward‘.
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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.
Q1. Which poetic device has been used in ‘Like a fireplace’?
Ans : Simile
Q2. Which poetic device has been used in ‘And realio, trulio’?
Ans : Refrain
Q3. What does the word ‘Scales’ mean?
Ans : The word ‘Scales’ mean thin bony plates that protect the skin of fish and reptiles.
Q4. What is dagger?
Ans : Dagger is a sharp knife.
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.
Q1. Which poetic device has been used in ‘As brave as a barrel full of bears’?
Ans : Simile
Q2. Which poetic device has been used in ‘As brave as a tiger’?
Ans : Simile
Q3. Which poetic device has been used in ‘Ink and Blink chased lions down the stairs’?
Ans : Hyperbole
Q4. Find out the synonym of the word ‘Anger’ from the stanza?
Ans : Rage
Q5. What is ‘Barrell‘ in the first line?
Ans : Barrell refers to a drum.
Related
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.
Q1. Whom did Belinda tickle?
Ans : Custard, the dragon
Q2. What does the word ‘Percival’ mean?
Ans : Percival was a knight in King Arthur’s court.
Q3. Find out the synonym of the word ‘Cruel’ from the stanza?
Ans : Merciless
Q4. What is wagon?
Ans : Wagon is a vehicle used for transportation of goods
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.
Q1. What does the word ‘Giggle’ mean?
Ans : The word ‘Giggle’ means to laugh nervously/foolishly
Q2. Whom did Ink and Mustard make fun of asking his age?
Ans : Custard, the dragon
Q3. Who were Ink and Blink?
Ans : They were kitten and mouse of Belinda.
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.
Q1. Which poetic device has been used in ‘Suddenly suddenly’?
Ans : Repetition
Q2. Who broke into their house?
Ans : A pirate broke into the house of Belinda.
Q3. What is pirate?
Ans : Someone who robs at sea is called a pirate.
Q4. What does ‘Winda’ refer to ?
Ans : Winda refers to window.
Q5. What startled all the pets?
Ans : Breaking of a pirate into Belinda’s home startled all the pets of the house.
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.
Q1. What did the pirate have in his hands?
Ans : Pirate had Pistol in both the hands.
Q2. What was the intent of the pirate according to the poet?
Ans : The pirate had entered the home with a wrong intent. Probably, to rob the family.
Q3. What does the word ‘Cutlass’ mean
Ans : Cutlass is a kind of sword with curved blades.
Q4. What does the poet mean by ‘One leg was wood’?
Ans : According to the poet, pirate was disabled.
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.
Q1. What does the word ‘Paled’ mean?
Ans : The word ‘Paled’ refers to go off-color or lose the charm of the face.
Q2. What does the word ‘Fled’ mean?
Ans : The word ‘Fled’ means to run away.
Q3. What is ‘Mouseholed’ in this stanza?
Ans : Mousehold refers to the hole wherein it lives.
Q4. How did Belind, Ink, Blink and mustard react on seeing the pirate?
Ans : Having seen the pirate, they all started screaming, running here and there and started hiding themselves at any of the places.
Stanza 10
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.
Q1. Which poetic device has been used in ‘Snorting like an engine’?
Ans : Simile
Q2. What does the word ‘Snort’ refer to?
Ans : The word ‘Snort’ refers to a cry made to express displeasure.
Q3. How did Custard react on seeing the pirate?
Ans : Custard was not an inch scared on seeing the pirate. Rather, he started snorting and went to the pirate for the face-off.
Q4. What is dungeon?
Ans : Dungeon refers to an underground prison.
Q5. What is Robin?
Ans : Robin is a kind of bird.
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.
Q1. Which did the pirate gulp?
Ans : The pirate swallowed some drink from his bottle.
Q2. How did Custard respond when two bullets were fired at him?
Ans : Custard got very angry when two bullets were fired at him. He, forthwith, swallowed him immediately.
Q3. What does the word ‘Gape’ mean?
Ans : The word gape means to stare at someone with wide and open mouth.
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.
Q1. What was the reaction of Belinda and other pets on seeing the bravery of Custard?
Ans : Everyone in the family was astonished to see the unexpected bravery of Custard. They all started hugging and kissing him.
Q2. What does the word ‘Mourn’ mean?
Ans : The word mourn means to feel sad.
Q3. What does the poet mean by ‘Ink and Blink in glee did gyrate’?
Ans : According to the poet, after the pirate was killed, Ink and Blink started spinning around the dragon. They were too ecstatic to see the bravery of Custard.
Q4`. Find out the synonym of the word ‘Lap’ from the stanza?
Ans : Lick
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.
Q1. What does the word ‘Flustered’ mean?
Ans : The word flustered means ‘Confused’ here.
Q2. Why did Custard agree that everybody was braver than him?
Ans : In order to make everyone happy, Custard agreed that everyone was braver than that of him.
Q3. Which poetic device has been used in ‘Spoke Ink and up spoke Blink’?
Ans : Repetition
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
Q1. Where and with whom does Belinda live now?
Ans : Belinda lives at the same house with her four pets.
Q2. What does Custard keep crying for?
Ans : Custard still keeps on crying for a safe cage.
Q3. Which poetic device has been used in ‘As brave as a tiger’?
Ans : Simile
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