Madam Rides the Bus
The Tale of Custard the Dragon
Explain the story, devices and humour of 'The Tale of Custard the Dragon'.
A comic ballad. A ballad is a song or poem that tells a story. Ogden Nash's poem is 'a humorous ballad close to a parody': it makes fun of old heroic ballads. Each stanza rhymes a a b b.
The household (with pet names).
- Belinda, 'as brave as a barrel full of bears';
- Ink, a little black kitten;
- Blink, a little grey mouse;
- Mustard, a little yellow dog, 'sharp as mustard', 'brave as a tiger in a rage';
- Custard, a 'realio, trulio' dragon: big sharp teeth, spikes on top, scales underneath, 'mouth like a fireplace, chimney for a nose', daggers on his toes. He is called a coward because he 'cried for a nice safe cage'.
Teasing. Belinda tickles him 'unmerciful'. The others rudely call him 'Percival' (a soft, fancy-sounding name) and ask his age. They all sit in the little red wagon laughing at 'the realio, trulio, cowardly dragon'.
The pirate. A pirate climbs in at the 'winda' (window, changed to rhyme with Belinda), with a pistol in each hand and a cutlass in his teeth. The brave ones fail:
- Belinda turns pale and cries 'Help!';
- Mustard flees 'with a terrified yelp';
- Ink trickles down to the bottom of the house;
- Blink 'strategically mouseholed'.
Custard jumps up, 'snorting like an engine', goes at the pirate 'like a robin at a worm', and gobbles him up.
Nothing changes. Mustard says he'd have been 'twice as brave if I hadn't been flustered'; Ink and Blink say 'three times'. Custard agrees that 'everybody is braver than me'. The last stanza repeats the fourth: Custard still 'keeps crying for a nice safe cage'. The joke: real courage doesn't boast, and boasters aren't brave.
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