Class 10 English · Original EZT practice
The Tale of Custard the Dragon - Ogden Nash (Class 10 English, First Flight)
The Tale of Custard the Dragon is a comic ballad by Ogden Nash, printed in Class 10 First Flight (Reprint 2026-27, pp. 107-109) after Madam Rides the Bus. Belinda and her brave-sounding pets - Ink the kitten, Blink the mouse and Mustard the dog - all boast, while 'cowardly' Custard the dragon cries for a nice safe cage. When a pirate climbs in through the window, it is Custard who gobbles him up. Fifteen rhymed stanzas of parody, invented words and a gentle lesson about who is really brave. (Note: this is original practice, not a textbook exercise key.)
6 original worked examples, 6 fresh self-check questions and 4 mixed questions, with explained answers. These are not copied textbook exercises, an official chapter index or a full answer key. No affiliation with NCERT is claimed.
Official sources for topic and edition context, checked 24 October 2026:
1. Summary - who is really brave
Stanzas 1-4: Belinda lives in a little white house with her pets. Ink, Blink and Mustard all sound fierce; Custard the dragon, despite 'big sharp teeth', 'spikes on top of him and scales underneath', a 'Mouth like a fireplace, chimney for a nose' and 'daggers on his toes', is a coward who cries 'for a nice safe cage'. Stanzas 5-6: everyone teases him - Belinda 'tickled him unmerciful', the pets rudely call him Percival and laugh from the little red wagon. Stanzas 7-9: a pirate climbs in the 'winda' (Nash's joke spelling of window), pistols in both hands, cutlass in his teeth. The brave ones scatter: Mustard flees 'with a terrified yelp', Ink trickles to the bottom of the household, and Blink 'strategically mouseholed'. Stanzas 10-11: 'But up jumped Custard, snorting like an engine, / Clashed his tail like irons in a dungeon' and goes 'at the pirate like a robin at a worm'. The pirate gulps grog, fires two bullets and misses; 'Custard gobbled him, every bit'. Stanzas 12-13: everyone celebrates the dragon - then Mustard, Ink and Blink claim they would have been braver still if not flustered, and Custard mildly agrees 'That everybody is braver than me'. Stanzas 14-15: life returns to the little white house; the others are 'as brave as a barrel full of bears' again, and 'Custard keeps crying for a nice safe cage' - the boastful stay boastful, the truly brave one stays modest.
2. Theme - courage shows in danger
Real courage shows in the moment of danger, not in boasting. The poem is a parody ballad: it uses the heroic ballad form to tell a mock-heroic pet story. About the poet: Ogden Nash wrote over four hundred pieces of comic verse; the best of his work was published in 14 volumes between 1931 and 1972 (First Flight note, quoting Anthony Burgess's tribute).
3. Rhyme, rhythm and poetic devices
The whole poem runs in rhyming couplets (AABB), with Nash bending spelling (realio, trulio, winda, Weeck) to keep the rhyme comic. True pairs with line positions: stanza 1 - house/mouse (lines 1-2), wagon/dragon (lines 3-4); stanza 5 - unmerciful/Percival (lines 1-2); stanza 7 - sound/around (lines 1-2), Belinda/winda (lines 3-4, an invented spelling made to rhyme); stanza 10 - engine/dungeon (lines 1-2), squirm/worm (lines 3-4); stanza 11 - dragon/flagon (lines 1-2), hit/bit (lines 3-4). Simile: 'snorting like an engine'; 'Clashed his tail like irons in a dungeon'; 'like a robin at a worm'; 'as brave as a barrel full of bears'; 'sharp as Mustard'. Onomatopoeia: 'Meowch!', 'Weeck!', the 'clatter and a clank and a jangling squirm'. Repetition or refrain: 'And a realio, trulio, little pet dragon'; 'But Custard cried for a nice safe cage'. Imagery: 'Mouth like a fireplace, chimney for a nose'. Word meanings from the textbook gloss: grog - a drink typically drunk by sailors; gyrate - to move around in circles.
Choose, solve, check, then try a fresh question.
Before calculating, read the method prompt and name the condition that makes it useful. Write your own attempt. Open the steps only when you need them, and use the check to catch a wrong sign, unit or interpretation. Finish with the fresh question before reading its answer.
Name the four pets
Choose the method: One feature each.
EZT practice question
Name Belinda's four pets and the one feature each is known for.
Show the worked solution
- Ink - the little black kitten.
- Blink - the little grey mouse.
- Mustard - the little yellow dog, 'sharp as Mustard'.
- Custard - the little pet dragon who cries for a nice safe cage.
Answer: Ink the little black kitten, Blink the little grey mouse, Mustard the little yellow dog who is 'sharp as Mustard', and Custard the little pet dragon who cries for a nice safe cage.
Check: Four names, four species, one feature each - colour for the three small pets, the cage for Custard.
Watch for this: Do not call Custard fierce in this answer - the poem's joke is that the fearsome-looking dragon is the timid one.
Now try it yourself
Where does Belinda live?
Check your answer
In a little white house, with her pets and a little red wagon.
The 'little' refrain sets up the mock-heroic scale.
Test the coward label
Choose the method: Label versus proof.
EZT practice question
Why is Custard called cowardly, and does the poem prove the name right?
Show the worked solution
- He is called a coward because he 'cried for a nice safe cage' and everyone teases him for it.
- The proof comes with the pirate: Belinda, Ink, Blink and Mustard all hide or flee.
- Only Custard fights - 'Custard gobbled him, every bit' - so the poem proves the name wrong.
Answer: He is called cowardly because he cries for a nice safe cage and is teased for it; the poem proves the name wrong, because when the pirate attacks, only Custard faces him and gobbles him up.
Check: Two-part answer: the reason for the label, then the event that disproves it.
Watch for this: Do not stop at the teasing - the answer turns on what Custard actually does in danger.
Now try it yourself
Who tickled Custard unmercifully?
Check your answer
Belinda - and Ink, Blink and Mustard rudely called him Percival.
The teasing details set up the reversal.
Describe the pirate's entrance
Choose the method: Look and sound.
EZT practice question
What does the pirate look and sound like when he enters?
Show the worked solution
- He comes 'climbing in the winda' - Nash's joke spelling of window, made to rhyme with Belinda.
- He carries a 'Pistol in his left hand, pistol in his right' and holds 'in his teeth a cutlass bright'.
- 'His beard was black, one leg was wood' - it is clear 'that the pirate meant no good'.
Answer: He climbs in the 'winda' with a pistol in each hand and a cutlass bright in his teeth; his beard is black and one leg is wood - 'it was clear that the pirate meant no good'.
Check: Armed in three places (two hands, teeth) plus the black beard and wooden leg.
Watch for this: Do not write 'window' when quoting - the poem's spelling is 'winda', and the rhyme depends on it.
Now try it yourself
Why does Nash spell it 'winda'?
Check your answer
To make it rhyme with 'Belinda' - a comic spelling bend typical of the parody.
The joke spelling is itself a poetic device.
Quote the retreat
Choose the method: Their own words.
EZT practice question
How do Ink, Blink and Mustard react to the pirate, in their own words from the poem?
Show the worked solution
- Mustard 'fled with a terrified yelp'.
- Ink 'trickled down to the bottom of the household'.
- And little mouse Blink 'strategically mouseholed'.
Answer: Mustard fled with a terrified yelp, Ink trickled down to the bottom of the household, and little mouse Blink strategically mouseholed.
Check: Quote the verb phrases exactly - yelp, trickled, mouseholed.
Watch for this: Do not write 'ran away' for all three - each retreat has its own comic wording.
Now try it yourself
What does Belinda do when the pirate enters?
Check your answer
She 'paled, and she cried Help! Help!'
Even the 'barrel full of bears' brave girl needs rescuing.
Hear the excuses
Choose the method: Boasts return.
EZT practice question
After the fight, what do Mustard, Ink and Blink claim, and what does Custard answer?
Show the worked solution
- Mustard says, 'I'd have been twice as brave if I hadn't been flustered.'
- Ink and Blink claim, 'We'd have been three times as brave, we think.'
- Custard mildly agrees: 'I quite agree / That everybody is braver than me' - modesty that underlines his real courage.
Answer: Mustard claims he would have been twice as brave if not flustered, Ink and Blink claim three times as brave, and Custard mildly agrees 'That everybody is braver than me' - modesty that underlines his real courage.
Check: Twice for Mustard, three times for Ink and Blink, agreement from Custard.
Watch for this: Do not read Custard's agreement as belief - his modesty is the poem's last irony.
Now try it yourself
How does the poem end?
Check your answer
Back at the little white house, the others are 'as brave as a barrel full of bears' again and 'Custard keeps crying for a nice safe cage'.
The circular ending keeps the parody going.
Map a stanza's rhyme
Choose the method: Couplets, AABB.
EZT practice question
Pick the rhyme scheme of any stanza with line numbers.
Show the worked solution
- Take stanza 1.
- Lines 1-2: house/mouse - pair A.
- Lines 3-4: wagon/dragon - pair B; so the stanza is AABB, and the whole poem runs in rhyming couplets.
Answer: Example stanza 1: lines 1-2 rhyme house/mouse and lines 3-4 rhyme wagon/dragon, so the scheme is AABB - the whole poem runs in rhyming couplets.
Check: Give the line numbers and both rhyme pairs, then the letters.
Watch for this: Do not label it ABAB - the rhymes arrive in adjacent couplets, not alternating lines.
Now try it yourself
What rhyme pair does stanza 10 use for Custard's attack?
Check your answer
Engine/dungeon (lines 1-2) and squirm/worm (lines 3-4).
The clashing sounds match the fight.
Try a mixed set
Choose a method or explanation before opening each answer.
1. The four pets?
Show answer and reason
Ink (black kitten), Blink (grey mouse), Mustard (yellow dog), Custard (dragon).
Names plus species earn the marks.
2. Who eats the pirate?
Show answer and reason
Custard - 'Custard gobbled him, every bit'.
The 'coward' is the only brave one.
3. The poem's rhyme scheme?
Show answer and reason
Rhyming couplets, AABB - house/mouse, wagon/dragon.
Couplets, not alternating rhyme.
4. Why 'winda'?
Show answer and reason
Comic spelling to rhyme with Belinda - part of the parody.
The bend is deliberate, not an error.
Try it yourself
Work these on paper before checking any notes. Answers are deliberately not shown here.
- Explain in two sentences why the poem is called a parody ballad.
- Pick any stanza and mark its rhyme scheme with line numbers, as in an exam answer.
- Say what Custard's final 'nice safe cage' wish shows about real courage versus boasting.
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Questions about this practice page
- What is the rhyme scheme of The Tale of Custard the Dragon?
- Rhyming couplets, AABB, across its fifteen stanzas - for example house/mouse and wagon/dragon in stanza 1.
- Is Custard really a coward?
- No. When the pirate attacks, Belinda, Ink, Blink and Mustard all hide or flee; Custard alone fights and wins.
- Why does the poem say 'winda' and 'realio, trulio'?
- Ogden Nash twists spelling for comic rhyme (winda rhymes with Belinda) - part of the parody.
- Where is this poem in Class 10 First Flight?
- In Reprint 2026-27 it is printed after Madam Rides the Bus; poems are not numbered as chapters, so follow your own edition's contents page.
- What is the theme of The Tale of Custard the Dragon?
- Real courage shows in the moment of danger, not in boasting - the 'cowardly' dragon is the only one who fights the pirate.