THE TALE OF CUSTARD THE DRAGON
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.
Explanation:In the first stanza, the poet says that a little girl Belinda lives in a small white house. The girl has many pets at home. She has a small kitten who is black in colour, a little mouse who is grey in colour and a creature who was really and truly a dragon. Also, there was a little red wagon in the house.
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.
Explanation:In the second stanza, the poet tells the name of the pets who were in Belinda’s home. He says that Belinda has named the little black kitten as Ink and the little grey mouse as Blink. The little dog was sharp and was yellow in colour as mustard, so she named him Mustard. She named the dragon Custard, which symbolizes that he was a coward animal and not brave enough, as the other creatures of the home.
Custard the dragon had big sharp teeth,
And spikes on top of him and scales underneath,
Mouth like a fireplace, chimney for a nose,
And realio, trulio daggers on his toes.
Explanation:In the third stanza, the poet describes the features and characteristics of a dragon. He says that the dragon has big sharp teeth. He looks scary as his skin is pointed at the top, and his lower part has scaled underneath. His mouth looks like a fireplace showing his power. His nose is compared with a chimney through which smoke comes out from the fire of his mouth. The dragon’s toes are so pointed that it can cut anything like a sharp knife.
Belinda was as brave as a barrel full of bears,
And Ink and Blink chased lions down the stairs,
Mustard was as brave as a tiger in a rage,
But Custard cried for a nice safe cage.
Explanation:In the fourth stanza, the poet has explained all the characters of the poem and described their brave nature. He says that Belinda was as brave as a group of bears. Ink and Blink were so brave that they can scare and even chase away someone as strong as a lion. The bravery of the mustard dog was compared to that of the tiger’s anger. However, Custard is described as opposite his physical nature. Instead of being brave as a dragon, he has been described as fearful who always cries for a nice safe cage.
Belinda tickled him, she tickled him unmerciful,
Ink, Blink and Mustard, they rudely called him Percival,
They all sat laughing in the little red wagon
At the realio, trulio, cowardly dragon.
Explanation:
In this stanza, the poet has described how Belinda and other pet animals behave with the dragon. He says that Belinda used to tickle the dragon in a harsh way. Ink, Blink and Mustard have named him Percival. They make fun of him by calling him Percival because Percival was a king who was thought to be brave, but he had run away in the battle. They all laugh at the dragon by sitting in the little wagon and make him feel that he is a coward.
Belinda giggled 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.
Explanation:In the sixth stanza, the poet says that Belinda laughs so loud that it seems that the complete house is shaken due to her laughter. The mouse also laughed at the dragon by making a wreck sound. The Ink and mustard used to ask the dragon’s age and make fun of him when he used to cry for a nice safe cage. This shows that the dragon behaved like a small kid and the other creatures used to tease him.
Suddenly, suddenly they heard a nasty sound,
And Mustard growled, and they all looked around.
Meowch! cried Ink, and ooh! cried Belinda,
For there was a pirate, climbing in the winda.
Explanation:In this stanza, the poet says that; when all of them were busy making fun of the dragon, suddenly everyone heard an unpleasant sound. It seems like someone had entered the house. They saw that a pirate was climbing the window of the house. At this moment, the dog barked at him and the cat meowed to him. Belinda cried as she got scared of him.
Pistol in his left hand, pistol in his right,
And he held in his teeth a cutlass bright,
His beard was black, one leg was wood;
It was clear that the pirate meant no good.
Explanation:In this stanza, the poet has described the appearance of the pirate. He says that the pirate has guns in both hands. He was also carrying a bright sharp blade between his teeth. He had a black beard and one of his legs was injured. So, he seems to be a very dangerous person, who intended to harm the house.
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.
Explanation:In the ninth stanza, the poet has explained the reaction of the pet animals and Belinda after seeing the pirate. Belinda became pale with fear and cried for help. The pet animals whom she thinks are brave could not help her. The dog Mustard cried for a while and then ran away and kitten Ink went to the bottom of the house to hide herself. The mouse Blink ran to his mouse hole and smartly disappeared to save himself.
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.
Explanation:In the tenth stanza, the poet described the bravery of the dragon. He says that when all other pet animals flew away to save themselves, the dragon came into the picture. He jumped at the pirate and made a large noise through his nose like an engine. Here, the noise produced by the dragon symbolises that he was in an angry mood. He moved his tail with a great force that produced a clattering sound like an iron rod striking the walls of the prison. He moved towards the pirate in a similar way as a robin bird that attacks the 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.
Explanation:In this stanza, the reaction of the pirates towards the dragon is explained. The poet says that the pirate got shocked by the dragon’s reaction and gave him a good look. The pirate drank some wine that he carried with him in his pocket. Then he fired two bullets on the dragon, but those bullets did not hit him. Then Custard the dragon, ate him quickly without leaving any trace of him.
Belinda embraced him, Mustard licked him,
No one mourned for his pirate victim.
Ink and Blink in glee did gyrate
Around the dragon that ate the pirate.
Explanation:In this stanza, the poet says that everyone was amazed when the dragon ate the pirate. Everyone was filled with happiness. Belinda hugged him, and Mustard touched him with his tongue to express his gratitude towards the dragon for saving them. No one was sad about the death of pirates. Ink and Blink were happy and started moving in a circular motion around the dragon to express their joy.
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.
Explanation:In this stanza, the poet mentioned that after the pirate incident, it became clear who was brave. But everyone gave their excuses about why they weren’t able to kill the pirate. Mustard dog said he would have been twice as bold as a dragon, if he had not been nervous and confused. Ink and Blink think themselves thrice as brave as a dragon. They could not believe that the dragon had done such a great task and saved their lives. The humble dragon silently listened to them and agreed that everyone was braver than him.
Belinda still lives in her little white house,
With her little black kitten and her little grey mouse,
And her little yellow dog and her little red wagon,
And her realio, trulio little pet dragon.
Belinda is as brave as a barrel full of bears,
And Ink and Blink chase lions down the stairs,
Mustard is as brave as a tiger in a rage,
But Custard keeps crying for a nice safe cage.
Explanation:
In the last two stanzas, the poet has repeated the same lines he had used to introduce the poem. From the incident, it was clear that the dragon was a brave animal. But no one in the house was ready to accept this. Everyone thinks himself to be braver. The poet says that life started again in a similar way, where Belinda lives with their pet animals. Everyone was considered brave except the dragon, who was still considered a coward animal.