Short Questions and Answers
Question 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 a black kitten named Ink, a grey mouse named Blink, a yellow dog named Mustard and a coward dragon named Custard.
Question 2 : What did Custard look like?
Answer : Custard the dragon had big sharp teeth. Custard looked really dangerous with spikes on his top and scales underneath. His mouth was like a fireplace and nose like a chimney. His toes looked like daggers. Such a creature is supposed to be very strong and ferocious.
Question 3 : Did Custard match his physical appearance?
Answer : No, Custard barely matched his appearance as he looked ferocious but he actually was a coward. He always cried for a nice and safe cage and everyone laughed at him for his cowardice.
Question 4 : Describe the bravery of everyone in the house.
Answer : Belinda was as brave as a barrel full of bears. Ink and Blink were brave enough to chase lions away. Mustard’s bravery was like a tiger’s rage. It was only Custard, who was a coward, everyone else was very brave.
Question 5 : Was everyone really as brave as they claimed?
Answer : Belinda and her three pets, excluding Custard, were very proud of their bravery but they were not really brave. It was only Custard, who had the courage to face the pirate as he was the real brave.
Question 6 : What did everyone do when the pirate came?
Answer : When the pirate came, Belinda cried for help and became pale with fear. Mustard ran away with a terrified cry and Ink trickled to the bottom of the house while Blink disappeared in his mouse hole. Custard jumped in front of the pirate to fight him and showed how brave it was.
Question 7 : How did Custard face the pirate?
Answer : Custard jumped in front of the pirate to fight him. He clashed his tail. The pirate fired two bullets at him but missed both of them. Then Custard gobbled whole of the pirate and left no trace of him. Custard proved that he was quite brave at this point.
Question 8 : ‘But Custard cried for a nice safe cage.’ Who is Custard? Why did he cry for a ‘nice safe cage’?
Answer : Custard is Belinda’s pet dragon. He cried for a nice safe cage because he was a coward, who feared easily and looked for comfort and safety of himself.
But at the same time he proved to be brave when he faced the pirate whose entry had made the so called brave people hide in fear.
Question 9 : How did everyone react after Custard ate the pirate?
Answer : Belinda embraced Custard because he had saved everyone by killing the pirate. Mustard licked him to show his affection while Ink and Blink started dancing around Custard out of happiness.
Question 10 : How did the other three pet boast of their bravery?
Answer : After Mustard, Ink and Blink fled on seeing the pirate, it was Custard, who fought him and killed him. The other pets soon made excuses for their cowardice and said that they would have been twice and thrice as brave as Custard.
Question 11 : Did Custard accept his cowardice and their bravery?
Answer : Yes, Custard seemed like a really humble animal as even after killing the pirate he accepted that he is a coward and everyone else is braver than him.
Long Questions and Answers
Question 1 : The dragon, Custard was considered a coward. The humble dragon proved his bravery in adversity. Analyse that certain qualities like bravery and courage are situational and spontaneous. Express your views with reference to the poem.
Answer : It is true that bravery and courage are situational and spontaneous. Custard the dragon, does not boast of his bravery as other pets of Belinda do. They boasted of their bravery and made fun of the dragon’s cowardice. But when real danger came, none of them could face the danger and hid themselves in some corner of the house.
It was only the dragon who dared to face the frightening pirate who appeared really threatening with pistols and knife. Custard, the dragon rose to the situation, showed his real bravery and gobbled up the pirate.
It was a dangerous situation and Custard behaved bravely in this situation. So we can say that qualities like bravery and courage can only be tested when someone is actually put in a dangerous situation.
Question 2 : Do you think that one should be made fun of because of their preferences and choices in life? Explain in the context of Custard, the dragon.
Answer : It is not right to make fun of anyone on the basis of their lifestyle and their choices. Custard, the dragon, always wanted comfort and safety for himself and therefore always cried for a nice safe cage. Belinda and other pets of the house made fun of him because they thought that he was a coward. Custard proved that just because he likes comfort, he is not a coward. In fact, he was the only one, who had the courage to face the pirate and gobble him up. Others were only boastful of their bravery as they all disappeared when real need arose. So no one should make fun of others without realising their strength.