NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English (First Flight) Chapter 7 Madam Rides The Bus; The Tale of Custard the Dragon

NCERT
SOLUTIONS
CLASS - 10th

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Class : 10th
Subject : English
Chapter : 9
Chapter Name : Madam Rides The Bus

Q1 What was Valli’s favourite pastime?

Answer. Valli’s favourite pastime was to stand in the front doorway of her house and watch what
was happening in the street outside.

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Q2 What was a source of unending joy for Valli? What was her strongest desire?

Answer. A source of unending joy for Valli was the sight of the bus that travelled between her
village and the nearest town, lled with a new set of passengers each time it passed through her
street. Her strongest desire was to ride on that bus.

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Q3 What did Valli nd out about the bus journey? How did she nd out these details?

Answer. Valli found out that the town was six miles from her village. The fare was thirty paise one
way. The trip to the town took forty- ve minutes. On reaching the town, if she stayed in her seat
and paid another thirty paise, she could return home on the same bus. She found out these details
by listening carefully to the conversations between her neighbours and the people who regularly
used the bus. She also gained information by asking them a few questions.

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Q4 What do you think Valli was planning to do?

Answer. Valli was planning to travel on that bus.

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Q5 How do you usually understand the idea of ‘sel shness’? Do you agree with Kisa Gotami that
she was being ‘sel sh in her grief’?

Answer. ‘Sel shness’ means being concerned only about one’s own interests and showing
complete disregard for others welfare. Yes, it can be said that Kisa Gotami was being ‘sel sh in her
grief’. In the light of her tragedy, she was unable to see that death is something that strikes all
things living. In this sense, she was sel sh. However, for every person, his/her tragedy is
something personal and it prevents him/her from looking at the tragedy from a universal or
general point of view. If we take the usual sense of the word ‘sel sh’, then calling Kisa Gotami
sel sh would be inappropriate, because every person becomes sel sh in his/her grief.

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Q1 Why does the conductor call Valli ‘madam’?

Answer. When the conductor stretched out his hand to help her get on the bus, Valli said
commandingly that she could get on by herself, and that she did not require his help. She did not
act like a child, but as a grown-up girl and therefore, the conductor called her ‘madam’.

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Q2 Why does Valli stand up on the seat? What does she see now?

Answer. Valli stood up on her seat because her view was cut off by a canvas blind that covered the
lower part of her window. She stood up to look over the blind. She saw that the road was very
narrow, on one side of which there was the canal and beyond it were palm trees, grassland, distant
mountains, and the blue sky. On the other
side, there was a deep ditch and many acres of green elds.

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Q3 What does Valli tell the elderly man when he calls her a child?

Answer. When the elderly man called her a child, Valli told him that there was nobody on the bus
who was a child. She had paid her fare of thirty paise like everyone else.

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Q4 Why didn’t Valli want to make friends with the elderly woman?

Answer. Valli did not want to make friends with the elderly woman because she found her
absolutely repulsive. She saw that the woman had big holes in her ear lobes and very ugly earrings
in them. She could smell the betel nut the woman was chewing, and could see the betel juice that
was almost about to spill over her lips. That is why she did not want to be sociable with her.

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Q1 How did Valli save up money for her rst journey? Was it easy for her?

Answer. Valli had carefully saved whatever stray coins came her way, resisting every temptation to
buy peppermints, toys, balloons, and the like. Finally, she had saved sixty paise. No, it was not
easy for her, especially at the village fair where she was tempted to ride the merry-go-round as she
had the money. However, she suppressed her strong desire and saved the money for the bus ride.

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Q2 What did Valli see on her way that made her laugh?

Answer. Valli saw a young cow, whose tail was high in the air, running right in front of the bus in
the middle of the road. The bus slowed and the driver sounded his horn loudly. However, the more
he honked, the more rightened the cow became and it kept running faster and faster, right in front
of the bus. Valli found it so amusing that she had tears in her eyes. At last, the cow moved off the
road.

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Q3 Why didn’t she get off the bus at the bus station?

Answer. She did not get off the bus at the bus station because she had to go back on that same bus.
She took out another thirty paise from her pocket and handed the coins to the conductor. She just
wanted to ride on the bus.

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Q4 Why didn’t Valli want to go to the stall and have a drink? What does this tell you about her?

Answer. Valli did not want to go to the stall and have a drink because she did not have any money
for that. Even when the conductor offered her a cold drink free of charge, she refused rmly and
said that she only wanted her ticket. This shows that Valli had a lot of self will and pride. Possibly,
she did not want to take anything for free, particularly from a stranger.

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Q1 What was Valli’s deepest desire? Find the words and phrases in the story that tell you this.

Answer. Valli’s strongest desire was to ride on the bus she saw everyday. The sentences in the
story which depict this are as follows: “Day after day she watched the bus, and gradually a tiny

wish crept into her head
and grew there: she wanted to ride on that bus, even if just once. This wish became stronger and
stronger, until it was an overwhelming desire.”

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Q2 How did Valli plan her bus ride? What did she nd out about the bus, and how did she save up
the fare?

Answer. Valli planned that she would take the one o’clock afternoon bus, reach the town at one
forty- ve, and be back home by about two forty- ve. She found out that the town was six miles
from her village. The fare was thirty paise one way. The trip to the town took forty- ve minutes.
On reaching the town, if she stayed in her seat and paid another thirty paise, she could return
home on the same bus. She had carefully saved whatever stray coins came her way, resisting every
temptation to buy peppermints, toys, balloons, and the like, and nally she had saved sixty paise.

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Q3 What kind of a person is Valli? To answer this question, pick out the following sentences from
the text and ll in the blanks. The words you ll in are the clues to your answer.
(i) “Stop the bus! Stop the bus!” And a tiny hand was raised ________________.
(ii) “Yes, I ____________ go to town,” said Valli, still standing outside the bus.
(iii) “There’s nobody here ____________,” she said haughtily. “I’ve paid my thirty paise like everyone
else.”
(iv) “Never mind,” she said, “I can ___________. You don’t have to help me. “I’m not a child, I tell
you,” she said, _____________.
(v) “You needn’t bother about me. I _____________,” Valli said, turning her face toward the window
and staring out.
(vi) Then she turned to the conductor and said, “Well, sir, I hope ______________.”

Answer. (i) “Stop the bus! Stop the bus!” And a tiny hand was raised commandingly .
(ii) “Yes, I simply have to go to town,” said Valli, still standing outside the bus.
(iii) “There’s nobody here who’s a child,” she said haughtily. I’ve paid my thirty paise like everyone
else.”
(iv) “Never mind,” she said, “I can get on by myself . You don’t have to help me. “I’m not a child, I
tell you,” she said, irritably .
(v) “You needn’t bother about me. I can take care of myself,” Valli said, turning her face toward the
window and staring out.
(vi) Then she turned to the conductor and said, “Well, sir, I hope to see you again.” For Valli, the
bus journey probably symbolised the adult world. Like anyone else, she spent her money to buy
the ticket. She would have attained a great sense of pride and satisfaction in doing so. Therefore,
though a child, Valli wanted to be treated as
a grown-up on the bus. She had a great sense of self respect which prevented her from taking
anyone’s help. She felt she was able to take care of herself very well, and was easily irritated when
anyone treated her as a child.

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Q4 Why does the conductor refer to Valli as ‘madam’?

Answer. When the conductor stretched out his hand to help her get on the bus, Valli said
commandingly that she could get on by herself, and that she did not require his help. She did not
act like a child, but as a grown-up girl and therefore, the conductor called her ‘madam’. When the
elderly man called her a child and asked her to sit
down on her seat, she replied that nobody was a child on the bus. She kept stressing on the fact
that she had paid her fare like everybody else and therefore, she should not be treated differently.

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Q5 Find the lines in the text which tell you that Valli was enjoying her ride on the bus.

Answer. The following lines in the text show that Valli was enjoying her ride on the bus:
(i) “Valli devoured everything with her eyes.”
(ii) “On the one side there was the canal and, beyond it, palm trees, grassland, distant mountains,
and the blue, blue sky. On the other side was a deep ditch and then acres and acres of green elds
− green, green, green, as far as the eye could see. Oh, it was all so wonderful!”
(iii) “Everyone laughed, and gradually Valli too joined in the laughter. Suddenly, Valli clapped her
hands with glee.”
(iv) “Somehow this was very funny to Valli. She laughed and laughed until there were tears in her
eyes.”
(v) “Valli wasn’t bored to the slightest and greeted everything with the same excitement she’d felt
the rst time.”

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Q6 Why does Valli refuse to look out of the window on her way back?

Answer. Valli refused to look out of the window on her way back because she saw a young cow
lying dead by the roadside, just where it had been struck by some fast-moving vehicle. It was the
same cow that was running in front of their bus, during their trip to the town. She was overcome
with sadness. The memory of the dead cow haunted her and therefore, she refused to look out of
the window.

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Q7 What does Valli mean when she says, “I was just agreeing with what you said about things
happening without our knowledge.”

Answer. Valli’s mother said that many things happen around us, but we are usually unaware of
them. Valli had gone on a bus ride to town, all alone, and had come back without any harm. She
did all this without the knowledge of her mother. Hence, she agreed with what her mother said.

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Q8 The author describes the things that Valli sees from an eight-year-old’s point of view.Can you
nd evidence from the text for this statement?

Answer. The author has described the things that Valli saw from an eight-year-old’s point of view.
She was fascinated by a bus. Watching the bus lled with a new set of people each time was a
source of unending joy for her. Her strongest desire was to ride the bus. She saved money by
cutting on peppermints, toys, and balloons, and even resisting the temptation to ride the merry-
go-round at the fair. When the author describes the bus, the points he stresses on are the colour
and look of the bus. It was a ‘new bus’, painted a ‘gleaming white’. The overhead bars ‘shone like
silver’. The seats were ‘soft and luxurious’. The descriptions that the author gives when Valli
looked outside are also typical for an eight-year-old. The ‘blue, blue sky’ and the ‘acres and acres
of green elds − green, green, green’ show the enthusiasm of a kid on looking at different colours.
Valli clapped her hands in glee on watching a cow run right in front of the bus. She found it so
funny that tears came into her eyes. On the other hand, she was overcome with sadness on her way
back when she saw the same cow lying dead. It had been a ‘lovable, beautiful creature’ and later it
‘looked so horrible’. The memory of the dead cow haunted her so much that she refused to
look outside the window. These are the typical reactions of a young child.

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Q1 Who are the characters in this poem? List them with their pet names.

Answer. The characters in this poem are Belinda, a little girl, and her pets: a little black kitten, a
little grey mouse, a little yellow dog, a little pet dragon and a pirate.

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Q2 Why did Custard cry for a nice safe cage? Why is the dragon called “cowardly dragon”?

Answer. Custard cried for a nice safe cage because it was a coward and was scared very easily. It is
called “cowardly dragon” because everyone else in the house is very brave while the dragon is the
only one, who fears a lot and looks for a nice safe cage for himself. Belinda is as brave as a barrel
full of bears, Ink and Blink can chase lions and Mustard is as brave as an angry tiger.

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Q3 “Belinda tickled him, she tickled him unmerciful...” Why?

Answer. Tickling always works on people, who are a little softer. So, Belinda tickled the dragon
unmerciful as it worked a lot on him. Despite being a dragon, a tickling could disturb him and this
showed his cowardice on which everyone laughed.

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Q4 The poet has employed many poetic devices in the poem. For example: “Clashed his tail like
iron in a dungeon” — the poetic device here is a simile. Can you, with your partner, list some more
such poetic devices used in the poem?

Answer. In the poem, ‘The tale of Custard, the Dragon’, the poet has used a lot of poetic devices.
Following are the devices used
1. Simile: mouth like a replace
2. Repetition: the repetitive use of the word ‘little’ in stanza 1.

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Q5 Read stanza three again to know how the poet describes the appearance of the dragon.

Answer. DIY

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Q6 Can you nd out the rhyme scheme of two or three stanzas of the poem?

Answer. The rhyme scheme of the poem is ‘aabb’.

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Q7 Writers use words to give us a picture or image without actually saying what they mean. Can
you trace some images used in the poem?

Answer. Writers always use such phrases and words that do not tell us directly about what they
mean but always gives us an indication of the meaning. Such words or phrases are used to trigger
our own imagination in painting the picture that they mean. Use of such images in the poem is the
following: ‘mouth like a replace’, ‘chimney for a nose’, ‘brave as a barrel full of bears’, ‘brave as a
tiger in a rage’, ‘went at the pirate like a robin at a worm’, etc.

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Q8 Do you nd The Tale of Custard the Dragon to be a serious or a light-hearted poem? Give
reasons to support your answer.

Answer. ‘The Tale of Custard the Dragon’ is a very light and funny poem meant to be enjoyed by
everyone. The way the poem has been written with a x rhyme scheme, makes it very easy and
enjoyable to read. The poet has even used wrong spelling to maintain the rhyme scheme. The
features of Belinda and her pets described in the poem make it quite funny. Belinda’s bravery has
been compared to a barrel full of bears, a liquid substance. All the tiny creatures such as the kitten
and the mouse have been shown so brave that they can scare a lion and the dog’s bravery is like a
tiger’s rage. The biggest of them all, the dragon is the only one, who has been shown as a coward
and soft being, who looks for a cage for himself, which is very ironic, hence making the poem
funny.

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Q9 This poem, in ballad form, tells a story. Have you come across any such modern song or lyric
that tells a story? If you know one, tell it to the class. Collect such songs as a project.

Answer. DIY

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