NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Poem Chapter 10 The Tale of Custard the Dragon are part of NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English. Here we have given NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Poem Chapter 10 The Tale of Custard the Dragon.

Board CBSE
Textbook NCERT
Class Class 10
Subject English First Flight Poem
Chapter Chapter 10
Chapter Name The Tale of Custard the Dragon
Category NCERT Solutions

NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Poem Chapter 10 The Tale of Custard the Dragon

TEXTUAL QUESTIONS
(Page 132)

Thinking About the Poem

Question 1.
Who are the characters in this poem ? List them with their pet names.
Answer:
Here is the list of Characters of this poem :

Name of the Character Pet Name
Little black Kitten Ink
Little grey mouse Blink
Little yellow dog Mustard
The dragon 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 he was coward. He was called “cowardly dragon”. All other animals laughed at him for being so. He did not like that. So he cried for a nice safe cage.

Question 3.
“Belinda tickled him, she tickled him unmerciful…” Why ?
Answer:
Belinda tickled Custard because a pirate had come there. He had pistols in his hands. She tickled Custard to save her from the pirate.

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:

Similes :

— the little yellow dog was sharp as Mustard
— Belinda was as brave as a barrel full of bears
— snorting like an engine
— He went at the pirate like a robin at a worm

Question 5.
Read stanza three again to know how the poet describes the appearance of the dragon.
Answer:
Stanza three of the poem describes the physical side of the dragon. By stating his ‘big sharp teeth’, ‘spikes’ and ‘scales’, the poet makes him fearful.

Question 6.
Can you find out the rhyme scheme of two or three stanzas of the poem ?
Answer:
The rhyme scheme is : first stanza — aa bb , second stanza — aa bb

We can identify it by putting a to one sound and b to another one. In stanza first house and mouse have / s / sound. We put aa to these. In third and fourth line it is / n / sound in wagon and dragon. We put bb to these.

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:
Some images are in stanza third (physical image of Custard). In stanza eight we can almost see the picture of the pirate. In stanza ten, it is that of an ‘engine’. It is also of the fighting image of soldiers.

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:
It is a light-hearted poem. The animals have been treated as human beings. Then they pose before each other what they are not. When the danger comes, they run off. Again, when they come together, they pretend of their bravery.

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:
It is meant for individual student. They should collect such poems and tell them to the class.

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