CBSE Class 10 English The Tale of Custard the Dragon Worksheet Set B

The Tale of Custard the Dragon —Ogden Nash

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.

Question. How many pets did Belinda have?
(a) five
(b) four
(c) two
(d) four
Answer: (d)

Question. What does the repetition of ‘a little’ emphasise?
(a) small things
(b) small people
(c) small pets
(d) small furniture
Answer: (c)

Question. What kind of a house did Belinda live in?
(a) small
(b) big
(c) very big
(d) very small
Answer: (a)

Question. What poetic device is used in the first line?
(a) metaphor
(b) alliteration
(c) personification
(d) imagery
Answer: (b)

Question. Which of the following was the most unusual pet that Belinda had?
(a) kitten
(b) dog
(c) mouse
(d) dragon
Answer: (d)

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.
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.

Question. Who saved everyone from the pirate?
(a) Mouse
(b) Dragon
(c) Kitten
(d) Dog
Answer: (b)

Question. What did Custard do to the pirate?
(a) He ate him
(b) He scared him away
(c) He held him hostage
(d) None of the above
Answer: (a)

Question. What is the rhyme scheme here?
(a) aa-bb-cc-aa
(b) ab-ab-cd-cd
(c) ab-cd-ab-cd
(d) aa-bb-cc-dd
Answer: (d)

Question. What were the bullets fired for?
(a) To rescue Belinda
(b) To kill Custard
(c) Both (i) and (ii)
(d) None of the above
Answer: (b)

Question. Give the antonym of the word ‘squirm’.
(a) Wiggle
(b) Twist
(c) motionless
(d) Shake
Answer: (c)

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.

Question. How did Belinda’s pets other than Custard face the pirate?

Answer: All the animals other than the dragon, Custard used to boast about their bravery and mocked the dragon. and made the fun of the dragon. But when the pirate entered the house, they all got frightened scared and ran away and hid themselves disappeared except Custard, the dragon.

Question. Who among Belinda’s pets was turned out to be actually brave? How?

Answer: Custard, the dragon was proved to be the bravest of all the pets of Belinda. Her other pets, Mustard, Ink and Blink were cowards and fled ran away on seeing the pirate. Custard however, faced him bravely.

Now the name of the little black kitten was Ink,
And the little grey mouse, she called him Blink,
And the little yellow dog was sharp as Mustard,
But the dragon was a coward, and she called him Custard.

Question. Who lived with Belinda?

Answer: Belinda lived in a white house with her pets namely, Ink – a black kitten, Blink – a grey mouse, Mustard – a yellow dog, Custard – a dragon, and a red wagon.

Question. Do the names of the animals reflect their personalities?

Answer: The names of the animals were showed their physical appearance and not their personalities. Custard, the a dragon was named so given its name due to its colour. He was however, a brave dragon who showed his bravery during times of need.

Short Answers Type Questions 

Question. Describe the pirate who comes through the window?

Answer: The pirate had a wooden leg and his beard was black. He had a pistol in both his left and right hand and he held a cutlass in his teeth.

Question. What do all of them do when the pirate comes?

Answer: When they see the pirate, Belinda cries for help. Ink, the cat, hides under the house, the mouse runs to his hole, the dog yelps and runs but the dragon attacks the pirate.

Question. How do they celebrate Custard getting rid of the pirate?

Answer: Belinda embraces him, Mustard, the dog licks him. Ink, the cat and Blink, the mouse dance around him in circles in celebration of Custard eating up the pirate.

Question. Where did Belinda live? Who else lived with her?

Answer: Belinda lived in a little white house with other animals. There was a little black kitten, a little gray mouse, a little yellow dog and a little pet dragon. They all lived together happily and with affection.

Question. What names did Belinda give to them?

Answer: Belinda lived with different animals. She gave the kitten the name Ink. She called the gray mouse as Blink. The little yellow dog was called Mustard. The dragon was coward, thus she named him as Custard.

Question. What was the ‘nasty sound’ they all heard one day? How did they react to it?

Answer: The ‘nasty sound’ was of a pirate. Mustard looked at him and growled at it. Ink gave out ‘Meowch’ sound and Belinda cried ‘ooh’. They looked around to see what kind of sound it was. They were curious to know who had produced it.

Question. How is ‘The Tale of Custard the Dragon’ a ballad?

Answer: A ballad is actually a story which is sung in rhyme to show adventure, suspense, romance etc. It is highly musical due to its rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme of the poem is aabb. The poem possess both these characteristics and hence, is a ballad.