Summary :
The poem is a humorous ballad that presents a piece of writing in a funny way. A little girl Belinda is described in this poem, with many pets whom she had named. She has named the black kitten as ink, grey mouse as Blink, Yellow dog as Mustard and a coward dragon as Custard. The poet has beautifully described all these characters in the poem. He says that all of them are very brave except the dragon. But his perception changes when the dragon saves everyone from the attack of pirates on Belinda's house.
About the Poet
Frederic Ogden Nash
He 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.
Stanza (1)
Belinda lived in a little white house,
With a little black kitten and little grey mouse,
And a little yellow dog and a little red wagon,
And a realio, trulio, little pet dragon.
Difficult words
Wagon:A vehicle
Explanation
The poet says that once there was a little girl named Belinda. She lived in a little white house. She lived with some creatures who were her pets. They were a black kitten, a grey mouse, a yellow dog, a little red wagon and a creature that the poet says was really and truly dragon.
Literary Devices
Rhyme scheme:aabb(house-mouse, wagon-dragon)
Repetition:Use of the word 'little'
Oxymoron :Use of two words with opposite meaning "pet, dragon"
Anaphora:repeated use of word at the start of two consecutive lines(And a little..... And a realio)
Refrain:Repetition of a sentence again and again (And a realio, trulio)
Poetic license :realio, trulio for real, true. The spellings have been changed to create a musical effect.
Stanza (2)
"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,
Word Meaning
Mustard:A yellow coloured flower
Coward:Weakling
Explanation
The poet explain the name of all the animals that are tamed by Belinda. He says that name of black kitten is ink. The name of grey mouse is blink. The little yellow dog had yellow colour and so she calls him mustard and the dragon that was a coward means was a weakling was called custard.
Literary Devices
Rhyme scheme :aabb(ink-blink, mustard-custard)
Simile:dog compared to mustard"And the little yellow dog was sharp as Mustard..
Alliteration :"coward," and she called him "Custard"-"c"-sound
Anaphora:Repeated use of word at the start of two consecutive lines(And the little grey.. And the little yellow )
Repetition :use of word little.
Stanza (3)
Custard the dragon had big sharp teeth,
And spikes on the top of him and scales underneath,
Mouth like a fireplace, chimney for a nose,
And realio, trulio daggers on his toes."
Word Meaning
Spikes:thin pointed surface
Scales:Thin bony plates protecting the skin of fish and reptiles
Underneath :Situated directly below
Fire place:An Outdoor structure of brick, stone or metal for an open fire.
Dragger:A sharp knife
Explaination
The Poet describes the dragon that it had big sharp teeth and spikes on top. This means that its Skin was pointed on the top. On the lower part it had scales were bony plates to protect the Skin. His mouth has been compared to a fireplace because it is assumed that dragons can release fire from the mouth. Even his nose is compared to a chimney which is used to pass out smoke. His feets are like a sharp knife ie: a dagger.
Literary Devices
Rhyme scheme:aabb(teeth-underneeth, nose-toes)
Simile:Dragons mouth is compared with fireplace.
Metaphor:"Chimny for nose" nose is like chimney.
Stanza 4
Belinda was a brave as a barrel full of bears,
And ink and Blink chased lion down the stairs.
Mustard was a brave as a tiger in a rage.
But custard cried for a nice safe cage. "
Word Meaning
Gulped:Swallow quickly, taken quickly
Word meaning
Barrel:Drum
Chased:Hunt, follow
Rage:Anger
Explanation
So, now the poet explains the inner strengths or the bravery of various characters of the poem. He says that Belinda was as brave as a group of bears and ink and blink were so brave that they could hunt even a lions. The dog was very brave just like an angry tiger. But to contrast of all of them was custard, the dragon was not brave he was so afraid of every thing that he always demanded a safe cage.
Literary Devices
Rhyme scheme:aabb (bears-stairs, cage -rage)
Alliteration :Belinda was as brave as a barrel full of bears"b" sound is repeated
Simile :Belinda 's bravery is compared to that of a barrel full of bears. Mustard bravery is compared to that of an angry tiger.
Assonance :Use of Wovel sound 'a'(Belinda was a brave as a barrel full of bears)
Stanza 5
"Belinda tickled him, she tickled him unmerciful,
Ink, blink and Mustard, they rudly called him percival,
They all sat laughing in the little red wagon
At the realio, trullio, cowardly dragon.'
Word Meaning
Tickled:Stroke, here it means to tease
Unmerciful :cruel
Percival:A Knight in king Author's court.
Explanation
Belinda used to stroke the dragon in a very cruel way. Ink, blink and mustard made fun of him by comparing him to a knight named Percival who was thought to be brave but ran away due to lack of courage. They used to tease the dragon while sting in their little red wagon.
Litterary Devices
Rhyme scheme:aabb (unmerciful -percival) (wagon-dragon)
Repetition:Use of the word "tickled him"
Allusion:reference to any person or place(percival)
Personification :ink, blink and Mustard they rudely called him percival
Stanza (6)
Belinda gigled till she shook the house,
And Blink said Weeck! Which is giggling for a mouse,
Ink and Mustard rudely asked his age,
When custard cried for a nice safe cage..
Word meaning
Giggled:to laugh
Weeck:Here is the sound made by the mouse.
Explanation :-
The poet says that Belinda used to laugh so loudly that her voice echoed in the house. Blink the mouse used to laugh and make a sound of weeck. On the other hand, ink and mustard would tease him by asking the dragon his age whenever he used to demand for a nice safe cage.
Literary Devices
Rhyme Scheme :aabb (house-mouse) (rage-cage)
Onomatopoeia:usage of sound words to create dramatic effect (giggled, weeck)
Stanza 7
"Suddenly, suddenly they heard a nasty sound,
And Mustard growled, and they all looked around.
Meowchi cried ink, and ooh!cried Belinda,
For there was a pirate, climbing in the winda.
Nasty:bad or unpleasant
Growled:bark
Pirate:A person who robs ship in the sea
Winda:It is used for Window
Explanation
So while all of them were making fun of the dragon, they heard a sound of someone entering the house. When they looked towards the window they saw a pirate climbing up the wall. The dog barked at him and the kitten meowed to him. Belinda cried 'ooh' because all of them were scared of the pirate.
Literary devices
Rhyme scheme :aabb(Sound -around, Belinda-winda)
Consonance:Use of consonant sound's'(suddenly, suddenly they heard a nasty sound)
Onomatopoeia:Usage of sound words to create a dramatic effect(Mustard growled, Meowch, cried ink)
Poetic license:Window is written as '
winda'
Stanza 8
Pistol in his left hand,pistol in his right,
And he held in his teeth a cutlass bright.
His beared was black, one leg was wood,
It was clear that the pirate meant no good."
Word meaning
Pistol:a handgun
Cutlass :A short sword with a curved blade
Explanation
The poet describe the appearance of the pirate. He says that the pirate was holding handguns in both his hands and had a little sword too. He was holding his sword with his teeth. He had a black black beared and his one leg was made of wood. This mean that though the pirate was a disabled person but still he was frightening all the other characters. Moreover, he intended to harm them.
Literary Devices
Imahery:An image is created about the appearance of the pirate
Stanza 9
"Belinda paled, and she cried Help!Help!
But Mustard fled with a terrified yelp,
Ink trickled down to the bottom of the house hold,
And little mouse Blink strategically mousehold."
Stanza 10
"But up jumped Custard, snoring like an engine,
Clashed his tail like irons in a dungeon
With a clatter and a clark and a jingling squirm.
He went at the pirate like a robin at a worm."
Stanza 11
"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.
Stanza 12
"Belinda embraced him, Mustard licked him,
No one mourn for his pirate victim.
Ink and blink in glee in glee did gyrate.
Around the dragon that ate the pirate."
Stanza 13
"But presently up spoke little dog Mustard.
I'd have been twice as brave if I hadn't been flustered.
And up spoke ink and up spoke Blink,
We 'd have been three times as brave, we think.
And Custard said, I quite agree That everybody is braver than me.
Some More difficult word's Meaning
Tickled:to touch somebody lightly with your fingers or with something soft so that he/she laughs(किसी को गुदगुदाना( ताकि वह हस पढ़े )
Percival : A Knight of king Authur who wins a sight of the holy grail.
Giggled:laugh lightly and repeatedly in a silly way, from amusement, nervousness or embracement
Growled:make a low guttural sound in the throat(by dog)
Cutlass bright: A short sword with a slightly curved blade
Yelp:a short, sharp cry, especially of pain or alarm
Trickled:Come, go, or appear slowly or gradually..
Clatter and a clank :clank is a loud, hard sound of metal hitting metal
Squirm:to move from side to side in an awkward way, sometime because of nervousness
Jangling:to make a harsh or discordant often ringing sound keys
Robin at worm :Robin primarily rely on their keen sight and hearing. The birds are able to see worms that are close to the surface in their tunnels
Grog:alcoholic liquor, liquor cut with water and now often served hot with lemon juice and sometime sugar.
Pocket flagon:a container for liquid:cause to move in a circle.
Important Questions
Read the following extract carefully and Answer the questions that follows
Question (1)
With a little black kitten and a little gray mouse, And a little yellow dog and little red wagon, And a realio, trulio, little pet dragon.
(1)Where did Belinda live?
(2) How many pets did she have?
(3)Which word in the Stanza means"Carriage"?
(4)Whose young one known as a "kitten'?
Short Question and Answer
(1) Where did Belinda live and with whom?
Answer :Belinda lived in a little white house with her four pets and a wagon. She had black kitten named ink, a grey mouse named Blink, a yellow dog named Mustard and a dragon.
(2) What did Custard look like? ( CBSE 2016)
Answer :Custard looked really dangerous with spikes on his top and scales underneath. His mouth was like a chimny. His toes looked like daggers.
(3)"But cutard cried for a nice safe cage"Who is custard? Why did he cry for a 'nice safe cage'?
( CBSE 2014)
Answer :Custard is Belinda's pet dragon. He cried for nice safe cage because he was a coward, who feared easily and looked for comfort and safety of himself.
(4)"Belinda was as brave as a barrel full of bears" Identify two poetic devices used in the above lines?
Answer (1) As brave as a barrel-simile
(2)Brave as a barrel full of bears-Alliteration
Important Descriptive questions
Q (1)Described the fight between the dragon and the pirate.
Answer:The dragon had big sharp teeth, and spikes on top of him and scales underneath, but everyone boasted about their bravery. But when the pirate enterd, all were scared and ran away , except custard who faced him boldly, attack him, hit him hard with his forceful tail and gobbled every bit of him.All of them later felt obliged to custard for saving théir lives.
Question (2)
How did custard accept his cowardice and others bravery?
Answer:Custard accept his cowardice by asking for safe cage and accepted other's bravery when they boasted of how brave they could be in front of the pirate.
But in real , Custard was the bravest of all because he was the one who killed the pirate and saved everyone in the house.However he choose to be humble and modest instead of boasting about himself..
Question(3) Why is it fair to say that Custard could be the 'poster boy' for the belief that the real nature of a person is revealed at times of the greatest difficulty.
Answer : .Custard could be the perfect poster -boy for the belief that the real nature of a person is revealed at times of the greatest difficulty. This is because Custard showed his true courageous nature when he fought fiercely with the pirate.He was considered as cowardly by his housemates before this incidence.
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