The Tale of Custard - First Flight - Class 10 - CBSE English

Why did Custard cry for a nice safe cage?

"Belinda tickled him, she tickled him unmerciful..." Why?

The poet has employed many poetic devices in the poem. For example "Clashed his taillike 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?

Read stanza three again to know how the poet describes the appearance of the dragon.

Can you find out the rhyme scheme of two or three stanzas of the poem?

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?

Do you find 'The Tale of Custard the Dragon' to be a serious or a light-hearted poem? Give reasons to support your answer.

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. a. Where did Belinda live? b. How many pets did she have? c. What poetic device is used in the second line?

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. a. What is the colour of Belinda's dog? b. What were the kitten and the mouse called? c. Which word is the stanza means "fear easily"?

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. a. What did the dragon look like?
b. Why is the dragon's nose called a chimney?
c. Which word in the stanza means the same as "a small sword"?

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. How brave were the Kitten and the mouse?
b. Why did Custard cry for a nice safe cage?
c. How did mustard behave?

Belinda tickled him, she tickled him unmerciful, Ink, Blink and Mustard, they rudely called him Percival,
a. Why did everyone laugh?
b. What did the other three pet call the dragon?
c. What does realio, trulio mean?

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.
a. What did shake the house? b. What has poet used to show ‘mouse’ Giggle’? c. What rudeness did mustard show?

Suddenly, suddenly they heard a nasty sound, And Mustard growled, and they all looked around. Meowch! Cried Ink, and ooh! Cried Belinga, For there was a pirate, climbing the winda. a. Which poetic device is used in these lines? b. Why was everyone frightened? c. Which word in the stanza means “unpleasant”?

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. a. How many weapons was the pirate carrying? b. Describe the physical appearance of the pirate. c. What does cutlass mean?

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 mouse hold. a. How did the people in the house react on seeing the pirate? b. Why did everyone cry for help? c. What does ‘mouse holed’ mean?

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. a. Why did Custard jump? b. What sounds did Custard's body make? c. What does dungeon mean?

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. a. What did the pirate do on seeing the dragon? b. What did custard do to the pirate? c. Which word means the same as “swallow”?

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. a. What was everyone’s reaction after custard gobbled the pirate? b. Why is the pirate called a victim here? c. What does gyrate mean?

Did Custard match his physical appearance?

Was everyone really as brave as they claimed?

Custard the dragon and Amanda are both unhappy in their immediate environments. The dragon tries to hide in a cage while Amanda tries to live in her world of fantasy. Write an imaginary dialogue between the two, where they can share their problems and give suggestions to each other. Custard: You know Amanda, Everyone is brave except me ! Amanda- Well, at least you have your freedom ... look at me, I live like a prisoner

Describe the pirate. How did Belinda and her pets deal with him.

Belinda was’ as brave as a barrel full of bears’. Identify two poetic devices used in the above line from the poem ‘The tale of custard the dragon’.

Justify the aptness of the truth of the poem ‘Amanda’?