Custard the Dragon - story of the week

THE TALE OF CUSTARD THE DRAGON

By Ogden Nash
Copyright Linell Nash Smith and Isabel Nash Eberstadt

Belinda lived in a little white house,
With a little black kitten and a little gray 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 gray mouse, she called her 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 Week!, 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 pyrate.

Belinda still lives in her little white house,
With her little black kitten and her little gray 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.
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More Thursday

We went to the park in downtown Rochester. I did some swinging at first, but when I discovered the little creek, nothing else seemed like fun at all! At first, I was a little timid about putting my feet in.But before long, I was stepping in and out of the creek bravely. I threw lots and lots of rocks in the water. I walked out and got my feet dirty on the sand, and then back into the water to get them clean. Over and over again. It was a good time.At home, I helped Ammy plant the alyssum. They are the flowers that smell really good.
Then I marched around the grass, singing loudly "The hills are alive!!!!!!! with the heart of music!!!!!" I spread my arms with emotion as I belted out the tunes.

Unfortunately, there were some busquitos out there, and one bit me on my leg. Ammy put some healing lotion on it, and I sort of forgot about it.
Inside, Ammy found an old Mrs. Potato Head, and I played with that for a while. Then I played with Papa until I was all wound up, and Ammy is wondering if I will be able to calm down and go to sleep.

I've had fun, but I can't wait to come home tomorrow. I miss my mommy and my daddy and my baby sister Nora!!!!

Thursday

I don't know why Ammy seemed surprised when I told her I wanted pancakes for breakfast. I like to make them myself, and I really like it when the pancake looks like a C.
After breakfast, we went to Ammy's work, and walked across a big bridge over the road. I got really shy meeting all those people, but it did help when Miss Jan gave me a yummy chocolate mint.

We were going to go to the park, but it was raining again, so Ammy took me to the bookstore.
We looked at books and toys for a long time, then it was time for lunch. In the car, I like to look for all the American flags. There are so many! One time, I saw 10 American flags!

Dog walking

After dinner, we took the dogs for a walk. I get to walk Lucy because she is more calm than Ethel. Papa says Ethel pulls too hard on the leash, and she might pull me down.

I Can Make Pizza

I know how to help make pizza! Ammy says I'm a good helper in the kitchen.


Best of all, when I am done, I get to eat the leftover cheese! Mmmm!

More Wednesday

I watched the rest of "Toy Story 2" today. Woody and Jessie are still my favorites. I carry them almost everywhere.Ammy doesn't seem to understand, but I really like having a snack of grapes while sitting on the stairs. Do you think a person can have too many grapes? I don't think so, but Ammy seems to be a little funny about letting me have too many.
I played with Play Do this morning.

It was a rainy day, but when the rain was over, I got to go outside and splash in puddles.

Wednesday Pancakes

This morning, I made pancakes for breakfast. This was fun because I had to use lots of gredients.I think I like the eggs the best.

Ammy was going to help me with the mixer, but I like mixing with a fork better.
Ammy put the pancakes in the skillet. She tried to make some like the letter "C."

For sure the best part about making the pancakes is eating them!

Bathtime

After gardening, it was bathtime.I got to take the Toy Story figures in the bathtub! We watched part of the movie today, and tomorrow, we will finish the rest. I like Woody and Jessie the best.

Tuesday afternoon

After naptime, we made a trip to the library. We came away with 18 books! Ammy chose most of them, but I chose some myself too. My favorite so far is Peep.
For dinner, we had spaghetti. I ate a whole plate, and then asked for strawberries. After that, I was able to have a piece of corn for dessert.After dinner, we worked in the garden. We dug holes for the plants. Ammy says I'm a great digger! I saw worms in the holes too. We put the plants in and packed dirt around them.
I especially like the digging part. The gloves were fun for a while, but I got a little tired of them. Ammy says I can bring them home so I can help plant in our garden too.

The library books

Just in case you're wondering, here's what we picked up at the library. A combination of my picks and Ammy picks.
Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present
The Teeny Tiny Woman
Peep
Sixteen Cows
Harry the Dirty Dog
Bear Snores On
Knuffle Bunny Too
Where did Bunny Go?
Wombat Walkabout
What Grandmas Do Best: What Grandpas Do Best
Curious George
The Bag I'm Taking to Grandmas's
Purplicious
Sticky People
Be Nice to Spiders
Let's Do That Again
Three Kind Mice
Here's hoping Ammy can find all these books to return next week!

Tuesday

We've been to Bordine's to buy pink flowers.

And then we went to Meijer to find garden gloves in my size. Still a little big...

Now we're off to the library to look for books!