We have decided to create the most comprehensive English Summary that will help students with learning and understanding.
The Tale of Custard the Dragon Summary in English by Ogden Nash
The Tale of Custard the Dragon by Ogden Nash About the Poet
Frederic Ogden Nash (1902-1971) was an American poet was an American poet famous for his light verse. He was known as the producer of humorous poetry. He received Sarah Josepha Hale Award in 1964.
| Poet Name | Ogden Nash |
| Born | 19 August 1902, Rye, New York, United States |
| Died | 19 May 1971, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, United States |
| Spouse | Frances Rider Leonard (m. 1931–1971) |
| Movies | The Feminine Touch, The Shining Hour, The Wizard of Oz, The Firefly, Poezija Ogdena Neša |
The Tale of Custard the Dragon Summary in English
It is a narrative poem which describes a little girl Belinda and her pets. Her pets are a black kitten called Ink, a grey mouse named Blink, a yellow dog named Mustard and a coward dragon called Custard. The dragon has dragger like sharp nails, sharp teeth and spikes on his scales. All her pets consider themselves to be brave. They all use to sit on a red wagon and make fun of the dragon who is assumed to be a coward. A pirate enters the house all of a sudden having pistols in both hands. He is holding sword in his teeth. Belinda gets extremely frightened and cries for help.
But all the pets flee away and hide themselves. But Custard comes forward full of bravery. He fights with the pirate and swallows him. This shows that Custard is not a coward. All other pets are cowards. But, other pets start saying that they are brave and two or three times braver than the dragon. However., the reality is now clear. Indeed, the dragon is only brave while all others are simply cowards.
The Tale of Custard the Dragon Summary Questions and Answers
Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follows by choosing the most appropriate options.
1. Custard the dragon had big sharp teeth,
And spikes on top of him and scales underneath,
Mouth like a fireplace, chimney fora nose,
And realio, trulio daggers on his toes.
a. The above lines tell us about ……………………..
(i) kitten
(ii) mouse
(iii) dog
(iv) Custard
Answer:
(iv) Custard
b. It is a description of the ……………………..
(i) appearance of the dragon
(ii) courage of the dragon
(iii) heroism of the dragon
(iv) cowardice of the dragon
Answer:
(i) appearance of the dragon
c. The rhyme scheme of the stanza is ……………………..
(i) a a ; a b
(ii) a b ; a b
(iii) a a ; b b
(iv) a b ; b b
Answer:
(iii) a a ; b b
2. The pirate gaped at Belinda’s dragon,
And gulped soma grog from his pocket flagon,
He fired two bullets, but they didn’t hit,
And Custard gobbled him, every bit.
a. Belida was a ……………….
(i) village woman
(ii) cat
(iii) girl
(iv) dog
Answer:
(iii) girl.
b. Custard was Belinda’s pet ……………….
(i) dog
(ii) dragon
(iii) kitten
(iv) mouse
Answer:
(ii) dragon.
c. The Custard gobbled
(i) some spirits
(ii) two bullets
(iii) the pirate
(iv) Belinda
Answer:
(ii) two bullets.
3. Belinda tickled hi m, she tickled him unmerciful,
Ink, Blink and Mi istard, they rudely called him Percival,
They all sat laugl ling in the little red wagon
At the realio, trul io, cowardly dragon.
a. Who is Belinda ?
Answer:
Belinda is a young girl who lives in a little white house with her pets.
b. How did Belinda and the other pets laugh at the dragon?
Answer:
Belinda tickled him and the other pets compared him to brave Percival to make fun of him.
c. Which word in this extract means the same as ‘unkind’
Answer:
‘unkind’:- ‘rudely’
4. 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. Why did Belinda cry for help?
Answer:
Belinda cried for help as she saw a pirate standing with pistols in both his hands. She at once realised that he had bad intentions of harming her.
b. Who are Mustard and Ink?
Answer:
Mustard is the little yellow dog and Ink was the little black kitten.
c. What did they do?
Answer:
Mustard fled with a terrified cry and Ink ran down to the bottom of the house.
d. Where did the mouse slip away?
Answer:
The mouse Blink tactfully slipped into his hole.
5. Belinda lived in a little white house,
With a little black kitten and a little grey mouse,
And a little yellow dog and a little red wagon,
And a realio, trulio, little pet dragon.
a. Who is the mistress of the house?
Answer:
Belinda is the mistress of the house.
b. How many pets does she have?
Answer:
She has four pets I.e. a kitten, a mouse, a dog and a dragon.
c. ‘Kitten,’ ‘mouse’ and ‘dog’ are enemies to each other. What effect do you think they create here?
Answer:
‘Kitten’, ‘mouse’ and ‘dog’ are enemies to each other but in the poem they create farcical effect.
d. What is the rhyme scheme in the stanza?
Answer:
The rhyme scheme in the stanza is a, a, b, b.
Question 6.
Belinda tickled him, she tickled him unmerciful.
Why did Etelinda tickle Custard so severely?
Answer:
Belinda tickled Custard so severely because this was her way of teasing and making fun of the cowardly dragon Custard.
Question 7.
But Custard cried for a nice safe cage.
Who is Custard? Why did he cry for a ‘nice safe cage’?
Answer:
Custard is a dragon.-He wants a nice safe cage for him, it shows his basic nature of being calm and quiet and above all he is coward.