- The whole poem, exactly as the book prints it, and a few facts about Ogden Nash
- What a ballad is, and why this one is called humorous
- The story told stanza by stanza: the teasing, the pirate, the rescue and the ending
- Every character with the pet name the poem gives it
- The devices really used (simile, onomatopoeia, invented words, irony) with the exact words
- Short answers to the book’s questions on the poem
1Meet the Poet and the Poem
The poet is Ogden Nash. The book’s note on him says he wrote more than four hundred comic poems, and the best of them came out in 14 volumes between 1931 and 1972. The note closes with a playful tribute by the writer Anthony Burgess, who says Nash mixed long, chatty, prose-like lines with a neat rhyme at the end, and that nobody can really copy him.
The poem is written like a ballad. Usually ballads tell stories of brave deeds and heroes. This one is a funny ballad, almost a parody of the serious kind. The book asks you to read it aloud and enjoy its rhythm.
A ballad is a song or poem that tells a story, usually in short stanzas with a strong beat and rhyme. The old ballads were about courage and heroes.
A parody copies the style of a serious kind of writing in order to make fun of it. Here the “hero” of the brave ballad is a dragon everybody laughs at for being a coward.
2The Poem, in Full
The lines below follow the book’s own line breaks, capitals and punctuation. Odd spellings such as “winda” and “realio, trulio” are the poet’s, not mistakes.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Words to know (the book’s glossary)
| Word | Meaning, as the book’s glossary gives it |
|---|---|
| grog | a drink typically drunk by sailors |
| gyrate | to move around in circles |
A few more words
| Word | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| wagon | a small cart a child can sit in or pull |
| realio, trulio | made-up words for “really, truly”, added for fun and rhythm |
| scales | hard plates covering the skin, as on a fish or reptile |
| daggers | short pointed knives; here, his sharp claws |
| unmerciful | without pity, without stopping |
| winda | the poet’s spelling of “window”, so it rhymes with “Belinda” |
| cutlass | a short, curved sword, the kind pirates are shown with |
| paled | turned white in the face with fear |
| yelp | a short, sharp cry of a frightened dog |
| mouseholed | an invented verb: went and hid in a mousehole |
| dungeon | a dark prison cell under a castle |
| gaped | stared with the mouth wide open in shock |
| flagon | a bottle for drink; here, a small one kept in a pocket |
| gobbled | ate up quickly and greedily |
| flustered | nervous and confused |
3The Characters
Who is who
| Character | What it is | Before the pirate | When the pirate comes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belinda | the little girl who owns the pets | “as brave as a barrel full of bears”; tickles and laughs at Custard | turns pale and shouts for help |
| Ink | little black kitten | said to chase lions; laughs at Custard | cries “Meowch!” and slips away to the bottom of the house |
| Blink | little grey mouse | said to chase lions; giggles “Weeck!” | hides in a mousehole |
| Mustard | little yellow dog | “as brave as a tiger in a rage” | growls first, then runs off yelping |
| Custard | the pet dragon | called a coward; wants “a nice safe cage” | leaps at the pirate and eats him up |
| The pirate | an armed intruder | (not yet in the story) | climbs in at the window, fires two shots, is swallowed |
Percival is not a new character. It is the name Ink, Blink and Mustard use to make fun of Custard. Also, the mouse Blink is “him” in the book (“she called him Blink”); Belinda is the “she” who named him.
4Stanza-by-Stanza Meaning
Part A: Life at Belinda’s house (stanzas 1 to 6)
Part B: The pirate (stanzas 7 to 11)
Part C: After the fight (stanzas 12 to 15)
5Theme and Message
The household calls itself brave and laughs at the dragon as a coward. When a real danger arrives, the boasters run and the “coward” alone fights. The poem shows, with a laugh, that true courage is proved by action in a crisis, not by looks or big talk, and that people are quick to make excuses instead of owning up to fear.
Boasting versus acting
Boasting (Belinda, Ink, Blink, Mustard)
- Described with grand comparisons: bears, lions, a tiger
- Laugh at and tease the dragon
- Run or hide when the pirate climbs in
- Afterwards claim they would have been even braver
Acting (Custard)
- Called a coward, asks for a safe cage
- Puts up with the teasing quietly
- Is the only one to attack the armed pirate
- Afterwards agrees everyone else is braver
Irony is when what happens is the opposite of what we expect. The one pet everybody calls a coward is the only one who acts bravely, while the “brave” ones flee. A second irony comes at the end: even after the rescue, the household still thinks of Custard as the coward.
6Poetic Devices Used
Only devices the poem really uses are listed. Learn each with its quoted words.
| Device | Exact words | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Simile | “as brave as a tiger in a rage”; “snorting like an engine”; “like irons in a dungeon”; “like a robin at a worm” | Compares with “as” or “like” to give a vivid picture of bravery, noise and speed |
| Metaphor | “chimney for a nose” | The nose is called a chimney, with no “like”, suggesting smoke pouring out |
| Alliteration | “brave as a barrel full of bears”; “a clatter and a clank” | Repeated first sounds give bounce and noise to the lines |
| Onomatopoeia | “Weeck!”, “Meowch!”, “clatter”, “clank”, “yelp” | Words that sound like the noise they name, so the scene can be heard |
| Repetition | “Suddenly, suddenly”; “little” in stanza 1; “a nice safe cage” | Stresses the shock of the pirate’s arrival and Custard’s fixed wish |
| Hyperbole | “Belinda giggled till she shook the house”; “chased lions down the stairs” | Huge exaggeration that adds to the comedy |
| Invented words | “realio, trulio”; “winda”; “mouseholed” | Playful coinages kept for rhythm and rhyme (“winda” rhymes with “Belinda”) |
| Personification | “up spoke little dog Mustard”; “Blink said Weeck!” | The animals talk, laugh and argue like people |
| Irony | “Custard keeps crying for a nice safe cage” after he has eaten the pirate | The labels stay the same even though the story has proved them wrong |
| Rhyme scheme | house / mouse, wagon / dragon; teeth / underneath, nose / toes | Each 4-line stanza rhymes aabb in couplets; stanza 13 rhymes aabbcc (Mustard / flustered, Blink / think, agree / me) |
Onomatopoeia is the use of words that imitate the sound they stand for. “Weeck!” for a mouse’s giggle and “clatter” and “clank” for Custard’s tail are examples.
“Mouth like a fireplace” is a simile (it has “like”), but “chimney for a nose” is a metaphor. They sit in the same line, so examiners like to ask about both.
7Tone and Title
Tone
Light-hearted, playful and mock-heroic. Made-up words, silly sounds and a jaunty rhythm keep it funny even when a pirate is swallowed.
Title
“The Tale of” fits a ballad, a story told in verse. Naming the dragon “Custard”, after a soft, wobbly pudding, hints at the joke: the softest name belongs to the one who turns out bravest.
8The Book’s Questions: Short Answers
Who are the characters in this poem? List them with their pet names.
The girl Belinda lives with four pets: Ink (black kitten), Blink (grey mouse), Mustard (yellow dog) and Custard (dragon). Later an armed pirate breaks in.
Why did Custard cry for a nice safe cage? Why is he called “cowardly dragon”?
He is shown as timid and wants a cage where he can feel protected. The others, who think of themselves as fearless, call him cowardly because a dragon is expected to be fierce and he seems scared of everything.
“Belinda tickled him, she tickled him unmerciful…” Why?
To tease him. Since he was thought a coward, Belinda found it amusing to tickle him on and on, and the whole group laughed at him.
List some more poetic devices used in the poem.
Simile: “snorting like an engine”. Metaphor: “chimney for a nose”. Alliteration: “barrel full of bears”. Onomatopoeia: “Meowch!”. Hyperbole: “giggled till she shook the house”. Repetition: “Suddenly, suddenly”. (The book’s question quotes the line as “iron”; the poem itself prints “irons”.)
How does stanza three describe the dragon’s appearance?
He has large pointed teeth, spikes along his top, scales below, a mouth like a fireplace, a chimney for a nose and dagger-like claws on his toes. He looks terrifying, which makes his timid nature funnier.
What is the rhyme scheme of two or three stanzas?
Stanza 1: house, mouse, wagon, dragon, so aabb. Stanza 3: teeth, underneath, nose, toes, again aabb. The six-line stanza 13 runs aabbcc.
Trace some images used in the poem.
“Mouth like a fireplace” (heat and flame), “brave as a tiger in a rage” (fury), the pirate with “a cutlass bright” in his teeth and a wooden leg, and Custard going at him “like a robin at a worm”.
Is the poem serious or light-hearted? Give reasons.
Light-hearted. It uses nonsense words, comic sounds, wild exaggeration and a jumpy rhythm; the boasters’ excuses and the dragon’s meek reply are meant to make us laugh. Under the fun lies a simple truth about real courage.
Do you know a modern song that tells a story?
This is a class activity. Pick any song you know that narrates events from start to end, tell its story briefly, and collect such songs as a project.
9The Poem at a Glance
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Poet | Ogden Nash |
| Form | Humorous ballad, 15 stanzas in rhyming couplets (aabb) |
| Characters | Belinda; Ink (kitten), Blink (mouse), Mustard (dog), Custard (dragon); a pirate |
| Turning point | An armed pirate climbs in; only Custard fights and eats him |
| Glossary | grog, gyrate |
| Theme | Real courage is shown in action, not in looks or boasts |
| Key devices | Simile, metaphor, alliteration, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, invented words, irony |
| Tone | Light-hearted, playful, mock-heroic |
- Poet: Ogden Nash; a humorous ballad close to a parody; 15 stanzas, aabb
- Pets: Ink the kitten, Blink the mouse, Mustard the dog, Custard the dragon; teasing name Percival
- Custard looks fierce (teeth, spikes, scales, fireplace mouth, chimney nose) but is called a coward
- Pirate: two pistols, cutlass in his teeth, black beard, wooden leg, grog from a pocket flagon
- Belinda pales, Mustard yelps and runs, Ink trickles down, Blink mouseholes; Custard eats the pirate after two bullets miss
- Excuses: Mustard “twice as brave”, Ink and Blink “three times”; Custard agrees all are braver
- Last two stanzas repeat the opening: nothing changes, Custard still cries for a safe cage
- Can I name every pet with its animal and colour?
- Can I describe Custard and the pirate from the poem’s own words?
- Can I say what each of the others did when the pirate came?
- Can I explain the irony of the ending?
- Can I give one example each of simile, metaphor, alliteration and onomatopoeia?