THE TALE OF CUSTARD THE DRAGON

THE TALE OF CUSTARD THE DRAGON

Central Idea of the Poem

The Tale of custard the Dragon is a humorous poem about a young girl named Belinda and her pets. Belinda lives in her small house with her little pets, a kitten, a mouse, a dog and a dragon, in her little house. Except for the dragon, Belinda and all of her little pets have been described as brave creatures. But the dragon is such a coward, that it is always looking for safety in a cage.

The dragon, on the other hand, surprised everyone by killing a pirate who had come to Belinda's house and threatened her and her pets. In this simple poem, the poet has tried to convey a message ‘never judge a book by its cover'. Dragon, who is usually meek and coward, shows bravery at the right time and saves everyone from the pirate.

EXPLANATION OF THE POEM

The poem begins by introducing the characters of the poem, specifically, Belinda, a little girl who lived in a little white house with her pets and a wagon. Her pets include a black kitten, a little grey mouse, a little yellow dog and a little dragon.

Belinda had given her black kitten the name Ink and her grey mouse the name Blink. The dog was as bright and yellow as Mustard, and her dragon was named Custard. Here, the readers are introduced to Custard's cowardice as he was not brave and feared a lot.

Custard’s physical appearance seems to be quite surprising to the readers, as it has been depicted as possessing all the features that make dragons powerful, scary and brave.  It has big sharp teeth and spikes on its back that could easily frighten anyone. Custard can also spit fire, making its mouth look like a fireplace showing its power. Its nose becomes the chimney through which the smoke comes out from the fire in its mouth. Custard’s toes are so pointed and sharp that they could cut anything like a dagger.

Except for Custard, all the members of the house are extremely brave. Belinda’s bravery has been compared to that of many bears combined. Despite their small size, Ink and Blink, have the ability to frighten and chase away a lion. Her dog’s bravery has been compared to the rage of a tiger. Custard, on the other hand, is completely opposite to his physical description and instead of being brave, he always looks for a nice safe cage.

Belinda used to tickle (touch) the dragon incessantly and cruelly. It should be noted that tickling is a very soft touch on the body that is related to softness. Since the dragon was such a coward, tickling affected him. It does not work on rough bodies, hence it's another proof of the dragon's softness. It was rudely named Percival by Ink, Blink and Mustard. Seeing the dragon react to the tickling made all of them laugh and they laughed sitting in the wagon at the cowardly dragon.

Belinda laughed a lot at the dragon, she laughed so hard that it seemed that the house was shaking due to her laughter. Blink, the mouse used to say ‘week’, which is the giggling sound for the mouse. Ink and Mustard asked the dragon’s age to mock him because it showed that the dragon acted like a small child, but he was not a small child. Custard simply desired a nice safe cage for himself.

While they were all busy making fun of the dragon, a very unpleasant sound came from the house. Mustard, the dog, growled and looked around for the source of that sound. When they saw a pirate climbing the window of the house to look it, Ink cried ‘Meowch’ and Belinda cried ‘Ooh.'

The pirate appeared to be very dangerous, as he was carrying many arms with him. He was holding a pistol in each hand, as well as a bright sharp blade between his teeth. He had a black beard and a wooden leg indicating that he was a tough man who had lost his leg in some fight or battle. The pirate's leg made it clear to the housemates that the pirate intended to harm the people and pets who lived there.

Belinda turned pale with fear as she stared at the pirate and cried out for help. All of her brave pets were unable to help her, and everyone fled from the scene. Mustard screamed and ran away; Ink went silently to the basement and Blink cleverly disappeared in a mouse hole, leaving Belinda all alone in front of the pirate. Their bravery could not help them.

When everyone fled on seeing the pirate, it was the cowardly dragon, Custard, who came to their rescue and bravely fought the pirate. He jumped in front of the pirate and made large engine-like noises through his nose to express his anger. He began to move his tail, which made clattering sounds like an iron rod striking the walls of a prison in a dungeon. With all of these perilous sounds, he followed the pirate like a robin follows a warm to eat it.