Qi. Who are the characters in this poem? List them with their pet names? (Textual) Belinda and her four pets are the five main characters in the poem. Her black kitten was called Ink and the grey mouse was ) named Blink. The dog was called Mustard due to his sharpness and the dragon, who was considered to be cowardly, was called Custard. Another character is the pirate who appears fora short time but is significant because an encounter with the pirate brings forth the central idea of the poem - appearances are deceptive. 2 Whydemand for a nice safe cage, B thought that Custard wasa weakli (Qh “Belinda ticked him and tickled him unmercifu, ts Or How and why did Belinda tickle Custard? Belinda didn't have a favourable opinion about ¢ ‘UStarg Considering him to bea lazy coward, she had given hi d the funny name Custard, She tickled him repeatedly not tam, him but to make fun of him because of his so called cowan, and tomake other pets laugh at his cost Q4. "Custard the dragon had big sharp teeth." What other features and traits of the dragon have been described in the poem? Or How does the poet describe the appearance of the dragon? (Textua) Custard has been described as a meek and cowardly dragon, albeit with a terrifying appearance. He had big sharp teeth spikes on his body and scales beneath his belly. His reddish, fiery mouth looked like a furnace and his long nose resembled a chimney. His claws were sharp like daggers. Q5. Where doestheaction of the'tale'take place? Or What is the setting of the poem: The action of the of Belinda, taleis:Qs. considered herself to be bold and courageous. That is why she made fun of Custard, the dragon for being a coward and tickled him hard only to ridicule him. However, Belinda was far from being brave. When the pirate came to assault her, she could not face him bravely. In fact she was so terrified that she turned pale out of fear and cried for help. All her boasts of bravery proved to be hollow How did Inkand Mustard make funof the dragon? Or "Ink and Mustard rudely asked his age." Why did they ask the dragon's age? Ink and Mustard considered the dragon to be a meek, timid and weak-hearted creature, When the dragon cried for a nice, safe cage, they thought that he wanted to escape dangers and lead a life of ease and comfort. They made fun of him by asking him his age because they thought that he was too old to cry forasafe, comfortable cage. ike a child Who was Percival’? Why did the pets call the dragon Percival’? Percival was one of the king Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. There are many stories of his adventures and bravery. The pets called the dragon Percival satirically making a A anaes beaiose re shwaye demanded fact they compared him with was from the brave knight, who Ak was a little grey mouse, yrave that they could chaseQuo. qu. m2. rat Custard the dragon was different from al of them a ever showed his bravery and wanted only a nice, sy he e Safe cage ring he hadl a teriGVN APPEATANCY, He wanted gy ae yay easy, satelile poetdescribethe pirate'sappearance? 9, How does the ister appearance, describe the pirate’ Briefly ihe pirate appeared to bea wicked, sinister person wh came to harm the pets because he carried a pistol in each of come to ha ' hands and a small sword between his teeth. He supported black beard and his one leg was wooden. With allthis, the pirate seemed to bea wicked fellow withevil intentions. How did Belinda and her pets behave at the appearance ofthe pirate? Belinda was so terrified by the sinister appearance of the pirate that she turned pale with fear and cried for help. Mustard, the dog yelped out of fear and ran away. Ink, the cat ran to the bottom of the house to hide herself and Blink, the mouse, took shelter in his hole. Itwas only Custard, the dragon who faced the pirate bravely, killed him, ate up his body and rescued all the inmates of the white house. How did Custard, the dragon confrontthe pirate? Or Describe the encounter between Custard and the pirate? Or d proved to be fearless ‘with the pirate. TeHow has the author created humour in the poem, "The Tale of Custard the Dragon"? Or Write about the element of wit and humour inthe poem? "The Tale of Custard the Dragon" is a humorous poem - a parody in the ballad form. The poet, Ogden Nash has created humour through the language, characters and situations. He has also employed the devices of exaggeration, irony and satire to provokelaughter. The poem narrates how a character considenad dered to by the weakest ina group ironically proves tobe the bravest why wna, critical situation arises, Beligda, a lady, living in a white r © house and g oN ES called Similarly, the n, has a number of unusual pets ~ a kitten, a mouse, a dog dragon, with quite interesting names. The black kitte Ink and the grey mouse is named Blink ame eS of the dog and the dragon rhyme together as they are named Mustard and Custard respectively. Custard, the dragon ig ridiculed by Belinda as well as other pets and is considered tobe acoward as he is always demanding acosy, safeca The kitten and the dog are considered to be so brave that they can chase a lion and the dog is regarded to be as brave as.a tiger inrage. However, when face to face witha pirate, all the bravery of these pets dissipates into thin air and only the dragon can assault and kill the pirate. The wide gap between the ) appearance and reality really hilarious and ironical, The usage of language is quite humorous. The poet has coined words like ‘realio', 'trulio', 'winda! and ‘mouseholed’ which make the poem a humorous one. Ink's running away at the sight of the pirate has been called trickling - "Ink trickled down to the hiding of the mouse is = "And little mouse Blink the pirate feeling atraid umorous. remarking that the their boasts of bravery the pirate, and Custard is anice, safe cage- situations, and the element of wit andHow does this humorous poem convey a serious message that appearances are deceptive? Or How does the poet blend the comicand the seriousin the poem Or Whatis the central idea of the poem? How isit conveyed? The poem "The Tale of Custard the Dragon’ is replete with comic elements but underneath the comic narration, there is significant and serious message that appearances are deceptive, Through humorous language, characters and situations, the poet reveals that those who boast of their bravery usually cuta sorry figure while encountering a critical situation, The kitten, the mouse, and the dog brag about their bravery and the dragon always demands a nice, safe cage. The dragon is a butt of ridicule and Belinda and her pets keep mocking at it However when the pirate breaks into the white house, Belinda who is brave "as a barrel full of bears' is extremely frightened and cries for help. The kitten, the mouse and the dog too flee in fear and hide themselves. Their boasts of bravery prove to be hollow. It is only the dragon: Whowiolently resists the pirate and is ing fierceness of the pirate R im to the dragon. and Mustard keep ‘only remarks that