NCERT Class 10 English Chapter 10 The Tale of Custard the Dragon
NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 10 The Tale of Custard the Dragon
Thinking about the poem (132)
Question 1.
Who are the characters in this poem? List them with their pet names.
Answer:
The kitten was called Ink and the mouse was called Blink. She called her dog Mustard and the dragon was called Custard.
Question 2.
Why did Custard cry for a nice safe cage? Why is the dragon called “cowardly dragon”?
Answer:
Custard cried for a nice safe cage because it was a coward and was scared very easily. It is called “cowardly dragon” because everyone else in the house is very brave while the dragon is the only one, who fears a lot and looks for a nice safe cage for himself. 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.
Question 3.
“Belinda tickled him, she tickled him unmerciful…” Why?
Answer:
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.
Question 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 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.
Question 5.
Read stanza three again to know how the poet describes the appearance of the dragon.
Answer:
Do it yourself.
Question 6.
Can you find out the rhyme scheme of two or three stanzas of the poem?
Answer:
The rhyme scheme of the poem is ‘aabb’.
Question 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:
Writers always use such phrases and words that do not tell us directly about what they mean but always gives 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.
Question 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 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. Belinda’s bravery has been compared to a barrel full of bears, a liquid substance. All the tiny creatures such as the kitten and the mouse have been shown so brave that they can scare a lion and the dog’s bravery is like a tiger’s rage. 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, which is very ironic, hence making the poem funny.
Question 9.
This poem, in ballad form, tells a story. Have you come across any such modern song or lyric that tells a story? If you know one, tell it to the class. Collect such songs as a project.
Answer:
Do it yourself
Extra Questions and Answers
Reference-to-Context Questions
Read the stanza given below and answer the questions that follow:
Question 1.
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.
(a) The little dog was called ………….. because it was sharp.
Answer:
mustard
(b) Belinda’s pets are a black kitten, grey mouse, yellow dog and
Answer:
dragon
(c) Belinda called the dragon
Answer:
custard
(d) Find the antonym of ‘brave’ in the extract.
Answer:
coward
Question 2.
Custard the dragon had big sharp teeth,
And spikes on top of him and scales underneath,
Mouth like a fireplace, chimney for a noes.
And realio, trulio daggers on his toes.
(a) Belinda thought that Custard the dragon was a
Answer:
coward
(b) The dragon had ‘realio, trulio’ on his toes.
Answer:
daggers
(c) “Realio, trulio” (really, truly) is used for poetic effect in the extract.
Answer:
True.
(d) Find the antonym of ‘blunt’ in the extract.
Answer:
sharp.
Question 3.
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) Mustard the yellow dog has been compared to a ………….
Answer:
tiger
(b) Belinda was as brave as a full of bears.
Answer:
barrel
(c) Custard cried for a nice safe cage, which shows his bravery.
Answer:
False
(d) Find the same meaning of ‘followed’ in the extract.
Answer:
chased.
Question 4.
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.
(a) Belinda tickled Custard, the dragon
Answer:
unmerciful
(b) Ink, Blink and Mustard called the Custard
Answer:
Percival
(c) Custard, the dragon, lived in the black wagon.
Answer:
False
(d) Find the antonym of ‘merciful’ in the extract.
Answer:
unmerciful.
Question 5.
Pistol in his left hand, pistol in his right,
And he held in his teeth a cutlass bright,…
(a) The pirate’s intention was to ………. Belinda and others.
Answer:
kill
(b ) The pirate held a bright in his teeth.
Answer:
cutlass
(c) Belinda attacked the pirate brutally.
Answer:
False
(d) Find the same meaning of ‘sword’ in the extract.
Answer:
cutlass
Question 6.
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.
(a) Belinda cried for help because she was by a pirate with a pistol.
Answer:
attacked
(b) Mustard fled with a terrified
Answer:
yelp
(c) Blink hid strategically in a mousehold.
Answer:
True
(d) Find the same meaning of ‘howl’ in the extract.
Answer:
yelp
Question 7.
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) Custard, the dragon has been compared to an
Answer:
engine
(b) Custard attacked the pirate like a on a worm.
Answer:
robin
(c) ‘Simile’ is used in the line ‘clashed his tail like irons in a dungeon’.
Answer:
True
(d) Find the same meaning of ‘wriggle’ in the extract.
Answer:
squirm.
Question 8.
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) The pirate fired two ………… from his pistol.
Answer:
shots
(b) The pirate met his end when the dragon ………….. him up.
Answer:
gobbled
(c) The pirate gaped at the dragon because he was not scared.
Answer:
False
(d) Find the same meaning of ‘drank’ in the extract.
Answer:
gulped.
Question 9.
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) Everyone embraced the dragon because he had the pirate.
Answer:
gobbled up
(b) The Custard proved that he was not a
Answer:
coward
(c) Nobody was happy because the pirate was not eliminated. (True/False)
Answer:
False
(d) Find the antonym of ‘unhappy’ in the extract.
Answer:
glee.
Long Answer Question
Question 1.
‘Appearances are deceptive’ is an apt summation of the poem, ‘The Tale of Custard the Dragon.’ Elucidate.
Answer:
Belinda’s pet dragon though ferocious in looks, believed he was a coward at heart, it seemed. In comparison, the other pets boasted of their bravery, their ability to chase lions and their tiger cries, while the dragon just whimpered for a safe cage to hide in. The appearance of a pirate brought forth the dragon’s true worth for while the other creatures scuttled off to hide, the dragon measured up to the pirate’s threats by snorting at him, clattering his steely tail, and finally, gobbling him up.
Once the enemy was conquered, the animals emerged and made lame excuses about their inability to confront the pirate In true warrior spirit, the dragon magnanimously said that he truly a coward, exposing their weaknesses.