English (First Flight) · CBSE Class 10 · Prose: Vallikkannan · Poem: The Tale of Custard the Dragon (Ogden Nash) · 25 Quiz
Madam Rides the Bus — Summary, Author, Theme & Word-Meanings
About the Author
The story ‘Madam Rides the Bus’ is by Vallikkannan, a Tamil writer, translated into English by K. S. Sundaram (illustrated by R. K. Laxman).
Theme
The story shows an eight-year-old girl’s curiosity, independence and self-respect, and how her first journey into the world outside her village becomes her first glimpse of life and death — she sees the gap between knowing that there is death and truly understanding it.
Summary
Valli (Valliammai), a curious eight-year-old, loves standing at her doorway watching the street. Her greatest fascination is the bus that runs between her village and the town, and a strong wish grows in her — to ride that bus just once. By carefully listening to conversations and asking discreet questions, she learns the fare is thirty paise one way, the town is six miles away, and the trip takes forty-five minutes. She thriftily saves sixty paise, resisting every temptation (peppermints, toys, balloons, even the merry-go-round), and plans to slip out during her mother’s afternoon nap.
One spring day she boards the one-o’clock bus. The jolly conductor teasingly calls her ‘madam’. Valli, proud and independent, insists she is not a child and has paid her fare like everyone else. She stands on the seat to see over the canvas blind and delights in the canal, palm trees, green fields, mountains and sky. A young cow running in front of the bus makes her laugh till she cries. In town she refuses to get off, to sightsee, or to accept a free cold drink from the conductor — she just wanted the ride, and will accept no favours.
On the return journey she sees the same young cow lying dead by the roadside, killed by a vehicle. The sight of the once-lovely creature now horrible and lifeless fills her with sadness and haunts her; she no longer wishes to look out. She reaches home by 3:40, before her mother wakes. When her mother and aunt discuss how ‘things happen without our knowledge,’ Valli secretly smiles — her whole adventure is her own happy secret.
The Poem — The Tale of Custard the Dragon (Ogden Nash)
A humorous ballad (almost a parody). Belinda lives with four pets: Ink (black kitten), Blink (grey mouse), Mustard (yellow dog) and Custard (a dragon). Everyone is said to be brave, but Custard the dragon is mocked as a coward who keeps crying for ‘a nice safe cage’. When a pirate suddenly breaks in with pistols and a cutlass, all the ‘brave’ ones flee and hide — but it is the ‘cowardly’ Custard who attacks and gobbles up the pirate. Afterwards everyone again boasts of their bravery, and modest Custard agrees ‘everybody is braver than me’. The poem gently mocks empty boasting and shows that true courage lies in action, not in words.
Word-Meanings
wistfully = longingly; kindle = set alight (feelings); discreet = careful/tactful; slack time = a time with little work; haughtily = proudly; mimicking = copying/imitating; repulsive = causing strong dislike; curtly = rudely/briefly; drivel = silly nonsense; thriftily = carefully (with money); resolutely stifled = firmly suppressed; ventured out = went out boldly; thoroughfare = a busy public road; merchandise = goods for sale; spreadeagled = spread out; haunted = kept returning to the mind; pokes her nose = interferes. (Poem) grog = a sailor’s drink; gyrate = move in circles; cutlass = a short sword; flagon = a large bottle; flustered = nervous and confused.
NCERT Textbook Solutions (Madam Rides the Bus + The Tale of Custard the Dragon)
OC1.1What was Valli’s favourite pastime?
Valli’s favourite pastime was standing in the front doorway of her house and watching what was happening in the street outside, since she had no playmates of her own age.
OC1.2What was a source of unending joy for Valli? What was her strongest desire?
The bus that travelled between her village and the town — filled each time with a new set of passengers — was a source of unending joy. Her strongest desire was to ride on that bus, even if just once.
OC1.3What did Valli find out about the bus journey? How did she find out these details?
She found out that the town was six miles away, the fare was thirty paise one way, the trip took forty-five minutes, and she could return on the same bus by paying another thirty paise. She found out by listening carefully to conversations between her neighbours and regular passengers, and asking a few discreet questions.
OC1.4What do you think Valli was planning to do?
Valli was planning to ride the bus to the town and come back home on the same bus, secretly, all by herself.
OC2.1Why does the conductor call Valli ‘madam’?
The conductor, a jolly, joking man, calls her ‘madam’ to tease her good-humouredly, because she behaves in a very grown-up, independent and dignified manner for a small girl.
OC2.2Why does Valli stand up on the seat? What does she see now?
She stands up because her view was cut off by a canvas blind covering the lower part of the window. Now she sees a canal, palm trees, grassland, distant mountains and the blue sky on one side, and a deep ditch with acres of green fields on the other.
OC2.3What does Valli tell the elderly man when he calls her a child?
She says haughtily, ‘There’s nobody here who’s a child. I’ve paid my thirty paise like everyone else.’ — insisting she is not a child and later adding, ‘I’m not a child… I’m eight years old.’
OC2.4Why didn’t Valli want to make friends with the elderly woman?
Valli found the woman repulsive — she had big holes in her earlobes with ugly earrings, was chewing betel nut, and its juice was about to spill over her lips. So Valli answered curtly and did not want to be sociable with her.
OC3.1How did Valli save up money for her first journey? Was it easy for her?
Valli saved thriftily, putting away every stray coin and resisting all temptations — peppermints, toys, balloons and even the merry-go-round at the village fair — until she had saved sixty paise. No, it was not easy; it required great self-control and determination.
OC3.2What did Valli see on her way that made her laugh?
She saw a young cow, its tail high in the air, running fast right in the middle of the road in front of the bus; the more the driver honked, the faster and more frightened it galloped. This made Valli laugh until tears came to her eyes.
OC3.3Why didn’t she get off the bus at the bus station?
She did not get off because she had only wanted a bus ride. She paid another thirty paise and chose to go straight back home on the same bus.
OC3.4Why didn’t Valli want to go to the stall and have a drink? What does this tell you about her?
She refused because she would be too afraid to go alone, and she would not accept the conductor’s free treat. This shows that Valli is self-respecting, independent and dignified — she does not accept favours and relies on herself.
TT-1What was Valli’s deepest desire? Find the words and phrases that tell you this.
Valli’s deepest desire was to ride on the bus. The words/phrases: ‘a tiny wish crept into her head and grew there’; ‘this wish became stronger and stronger, until it was an overwhelming desire’; she would ‘stare wistfully’ at the passengers; their faces ‘would kindle in her longings, dreams, and hopes’.
TT-2How did Valli plan her bus ride? What did she find out about the bus, and how did she save the fare?
She planned carefully — finding out (by listening and asking discreet questions) that the fare was thirty paise each way, the town six miles off, the trip forty-five minutes, and that she could return on the same bus. She saved the fare by thriftily collecting coins and resisting all temptations, and chose to travel during her mother’s afternoon nap.
TT-3What kind of a person is Valli? Fill in the blanks (the clues reveal her character).
(i) a tiny hand was raised commandingly. (ii) ‘Yes, I simply have to go to town.’ (iii) ‘There’s nobody here who’s a child.’ (iv) ‘I can get on by myself’ … ‘I’m not a child,’ she said, irritably. (v) ‘I can take care of myself.’ (vi) ‘Well, sir, I hope to see you again.’
These show that Valli is confident, bold, independent, self-respecting, determined and mature for her age.
TT-4Why does the conductor refer to Valli as ‘madam’?
He calls her ‘madam’ as a friendly joke, because this little girl travels all alone, pays her own fare, and behaves with such grown-up confidence and dignity.
TT-5Find the lines which tell you that Valli was enjoying her ride on the bus.
‘Valli devoured everything with her eyes’; ‘Oh, it was all so wonderful!’; she ‘clapped her hands with glee’ at the cow and ‘laughed and laughed until there were tears in her eyes’; and ‘Struck dumb with wonder, Valli gaped at everything.’
TT-6Why does Valli refuse to look out of the window on her way back?
On the way back she saw the same young cow lying dead by the roadside. The horrible, lifeless sight filled her with sadness and haunted her, dampening her enthusiasm, so she no longer wanted to look out of the window.
TT-7What does Valli mean when she says, “I was just agreeing with what you said about things happening without our knowledge.”?
On the surface she is agreeing with her mother’s remark; but she secretly means her own secret bus journey, which happened entirely without her mother’s knowledge. It is a sly, private joke that only Valli understands.
TT-8The author describes things from an eight-year-old’s point of view. Find evidence.
Evidence of a child’s viewpoint: the trees seemed to come running towards the bus and then rush away; the bus seemed to be ‘gobbling up’ other vehicles; she found the running cow extremely funny, the old woman repulsive; thirty paise seemed ‘a fortune’; and she gaped, ‘struck dumb with wonder’, at the big shops and crowds.
CD-1The Tale of Custard the Dragon: Who are the characters? List them with their pet names.
Belinda — the little girl; Ink — the little black kitten; Blink — the little grey mouse; Mustard — the little yellow dog; and Custard — the little pet dragon. (There is also a pirate who breaks in.)
CD-2Why did Custard cry for a nice safe cage? Why is the dragon called ‘cowardly dragon’?
Custard cried for a safe cage because he was timid and easily frightened. Despite his fierce looks (sharp teeth, spikes, daggers on his toes), he was afraid of danger, so the others mocked him as the ‘cowardly dragon’.
CD-3“Belinda tickled him, she tickled him unmerciful…” Why?
Belinda and the pets tickled and teased him mercilessly to make fun of his cowardice — they all laughed at the ‘realio, trulio, cowardly dragon’ and even rudely called him ‘Percival’.
CD-4List some poetic devices used in the poem.
Simile: ‘brave as a barrel full of bears’, ‘brave as a tiger in a rage’, ‘snorting like an engine’, ‘went at the pirate like a robin at a worm’. Metaphor: ‘Mouth like a fireplace, chimney for a nose’. Onomatopoeia: ‘Meowch!’, ‘Weeck!’, ‘clatter and a clank’. Alliteration: ‘little… little’, ‘clatter and clank’. Also refrain and hyperbole (exaggeration).
CD-5How does the poet describe the appearance of the dragon (stanza 3)?
Custard had big sharp teeth, spikes on top of him and scales underneath, a mouth like a fireplace, a chimney for a nose, and ‘realio, trulio’ daggers on his toes — a truly fierce-looking dragon.
CD-6What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?
The poem follows a simple aabb rhyme scheme — the lines rhyme in couplets (e.g. house–mouse, wagon–dragon).
CD-7Trace some images used in the poem.
Vivid images include: the pirate climbing in the window with a pistol in each hand and a cutlass in his teeth, his black beard and wooden leg; Custard snorting like an engine and clashing his tail like irons in a dungeon; and Custard going at the pirate ‘like a robin at a worm’ and gobbling him up.
CD-8Is the poem serious or light-hearted? Give reasons.
The poem is light-hearted and humorous — a comic ballad/parody. The funny pet names, exaggerated bravery, the ‘cowardly’ dragon turning out to be the real hero, and the comic ending (where everyone boasts again) all make it amusing rather than serious. It gently mocks empty boasting.