10^th std The Tale of Custard the Dragon

Extra Questions

Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow.
Question 1.
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) Which word in the stanza means “carriage”?
(d) Whose young one known as a ‘kitten’?
Answer:
(a) Belinda lived in a little white house.
(b) She had four pets, a kitten, a mouse, a dog and a dragon.
(c) The word is ‘Wagon’.
(d) A cat’s young one is known as a kitten.

Question 2.
Now the name of the litde 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”?
(d) ‘Blink’ here is the name of a mouse but what actually the word means?
Answer:
(a) Belinda’s dog is yellow as mustard.
(b) The Kitten was called Ink and the mouse was called Blink by Belinda.
(c) The word is ‘Coward’.
(d) The word ‘blink’ means to shut and open eyes frequendy in quick succession.

Question 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.
(a) What did the dragon look like?
(b) Why is the dragon’s mouth called a chimney?
(c) Which word in the stanza means the same as “a small sword”?
(d) Find from the passage a word which means a structure through which smoke or steam is carried up away from a fire.
Answer:
(a) The Dragon had spikes on top and scale underneath. His mouth was like a fireplace and nose was like a chimney. He looked dangerous as his toes looked like daggers.
(b) Dragons can spit fire, therefore Custard’s mouth has been called a fireplace.
(c) The word is ‘Dagger’.
(d) The word is ‘Chimney’.

Question 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.
(a) How brave were the Kitten and the mouse?
(b) Why did Custard cry for a nice safe cage?
(c) Which word is similar to “anger”?
(d) Which figure of speech has been used in the first and the third line of the passage.
Answer:
(a) The kitten and the mouse were so brave that they could scare away lions.
(b) Custard cried for a nice safe cage because he was a coward.
(c) The word is ‘Rage’.
(d) Figure of speech used in first and third line is Simile.

Question 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.
(a) Why did everyone laugh?
(b) What did the other three pet call the dragon?
(c) What does realio, trulio mean?
(d) Give the synonym of ‘un merciful’.
Answer:
(a) Everyone laughed at the Dragon because Belinda tickled him unmerciful.
(b) The other three pet, Ink, Blink and Mustard rudely called Custard Percival.
(c) Realio, trulio actually mean really and truly. The words have been changed by the poet so as to give rhythm to the poem.
(d) The synonym of‘un merciful’ is ‘merciless’.

Question 6.
Belinda giggled till she shook the house, And Blink said Week!, 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) How did the mouse giggle?
(c) Write the antonym for giggle.
(d) Find the antonym of the word ‘insecure’ from the passage.
Answer:
(a) Belinda giggled so hard that it shook the house.
(b) The giggling sound of mouse is ‘week’.
(c) The word is ‘Cry’.
(d) The antonym of insecure is ‘Safe’.

Question 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.
(a) Which poetic device is used in these lines?
(b) Why was everyone frightened?
(c) Which word in the stanza means “unpleasant”?
(d) What does a ‘nasty sound’ refer to?
Answer:
(a) In the first line, the poet has used repetition in ‘Suddenly, suddenly’.
(b) Everyone was frightened because a pirate was climbing up the window.
(c) The word is ‘Nasty’.
(d) A nasty sound refers to the entry of a pirate into the house.

Question 8.
Pistol in his left hand, pistol in his right, And he held in his teeth a cudass 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?
(d) What is the rhyming scheme adopted in the stanza?
Answer:
(a) The pirate was carrying two pistols in each hand and a cutlass in his teeth.
(b) The pirate’s beard was black and he had one wooded leg. He looked very frightening.
(c) Cutlass is a small sword like weapon with a very sharp blade.
(d) The rhyme scheme adopted is aabb.

Question 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. [CBSE 2016]

(a) How did the people in the house react on seeing the pirate?
(b) Why did everyone cry for help?
(c) What does ‘mouseholed’ mean?
(d) Write the antonym of ‘bottom’.
Answer:
(a) Belinda became pale with fear and the Mustard fled the scene. Ink went to the bottom of the house and Blink vanished in a mouse hole. They all cried for help.
(b) Everyone cried for help because they all got frightened of the pirate.
(c) Mouseholed has been used by the poet to mean the hole made by the mouse in which it disappeared.
(d) The antonym of bottom is ‘brim’.

Question 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.
(a) Why did Custard jump?
(b) What sounds did Custard’s body make?
(c) What does dungeon mean?
(d) Find at least two words from the passage which are examples of onomatopaea (a figure of speech).
Answer:
(a) Custard jumped to fight the pirate.
(b) Custard’s tail clashed like irons in a dungeon and he moved with a clatter and a clank and a jangling squirm.
(c) Dungeon means an underground prison cell.
(d) Words are clattes, clank, jangling.

Question 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.
(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”?
(d) Find from the passage a word which means a large bottle or similar container with a handle in which wine etc is sold or served.
Answer:
(a) The pirate gulped some wine from his bottle.
(b) Custard swallowed the pirate and left no trace of him.
(c) The word is ‘Gobble’.
(d) The word is ‘flagon’.

Question 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.
(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?
(d) Give a synonym of the word ‘mourn’.
Answer:
(a) Everyone became happy and hugged Custard. Ink and Blink started to dance around him.
(b) The pirate is called a victim because he suffered death at the hands of Custard as he ate him up.
(c) Gyrate stands for circular movements.
(d) A synonym of the word mourn is ‘Lament’.

Q1 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?
A1 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. Such things are also termed as writer's effect.

Q2 Why did Custard cry for a nice safe cage? Why is the dragon called “cowardly dragon”?

A2 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.

Q3 “Belinda tickled him, she tickled him unmerciful...” Why?

A3 Belinda tickled him unmerciful because custard the dragon was a coward So, Belinda and her inmates ill-treated him just for fun.Custard always demanded a safe cage. That is why all of them made fun of him and called him a coward.

Q4 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?

A4 The poet has used many poetic devices to enhance the beauty of the poem. Like, to create rhyme with ‘Belinda’, he used the word ‘winda’ instead of ‘window’. Other such rhyming words are ‘household’ used with ‘mouseholed’ and ‘wagon’ with ‘dragon’. Not only this, he also uses poetic device of repetition for example the word ‘little’ is used many times to describe her house and her pets. There is also the use of poetic device of refrain because we can see the repetition of line “And her realio, trulio little pet dragon” in many stanzas.

Q5 Read stanza three again to know how the poet describes the appearance of the dragon?

A5 The looks of the dragon are explained in a way that it has big sharp teeth and spikes on top. This means its skin is pointed on the top. On the lower part it has scales which are bony plates meant to protect the skin. His mouth has been compared to a fireplace because it is assumed that the dragons can release fire from the mouth. Even his nose is compared to a chimney which is used to pass out the smoke. His feet are like a sharp knife i.e. a dagger.

Q6 Do you find The Tale of Custard the Dragon to be a serious or a light-hearted poem? Give reasons to support your answer.

A8 The Tale of Custard the Dragon is a light hearted poem. All the characters have names which are rhyming with each other. They all are defined to be very brave except the dragon. But in reality the dragon proves to be the real hero. When they are attacked by the pirate, the dragon gulps him. Though all the other characters were not brave enough to handle the pirate but still they define themselves as more powerful than the dragon after the incident is handled by the dragon alone. Though, the dragon was defined as a coward by the poet right from the beginning of the poem.