The Hundred Dresses_1

Summary

This story is about a girl, Wanda Petronski who is teased by her classmates because she is different. She comes from the poor part of town, is the only student in her class with a ‘funny’ Polish name. She is always quiet and she always wears the same faded blue dress to school every day, although she claimed she has a hundred dresses and sixty pairs of shoes at home all lined up in her closet when the girls asked her the same question every day. She never quarrelled with anyone. She was always calm. When a drawing competition was held in her school, Wanda designed one hundred dresses. She was selected for the first prize. This surprised everyone in her class.

Comprehension Questions 

Answer the following questions in 30-40 words: 

1. What was the opinion of the judges about Wanda? 

Wanda had drawn one hundred designs of dresses, which were all different and all beautiful. In the Opinion of the judges, any one of the drawings was worthy of winning the prize. So she was declared the winner of the girl medal. 

2. Where in the classroom does Wanda sit and why? 

Wanda sat in the seat next to the last seat, in the last row, in Room Thirteen. She sat in the corner of the room where the rough boys who did not get good marks sat. It was also the place where there was the most scuffling of feet, most roars of laughter when anything funny was said, and most mud and dirt on the floor. 

3. Where does Wanda live? What kind of a place do you think it is? 

Wanda lived at Boggins Heights. It seems that it was a place far away from the school and also, where there was a lot of dry mud, thereby indicating that it was not a very rich locality. 

4. Who did Maddie think would win the drawing contest? Why? 

Maddie thought that Peggy would win the drawing contest because Peggy drew better than anyone else in the room. She could copy a picture in a magazine, or some film star’s face so well that one could tell who it was. 

5. Who won the drawing contest? What had the winner drawn? 

Wanda won the drawing contest. She had drawn a hundred dresses, which were dazzling with colours, and had brilliant and lavish designs. They were all drawn on great sheets of wrapping paper. They were all different from each other and all beautiful.

Answer the following questions in 100-150 words:

1. Describe the scene where Wanda’s dress drawings are displayed. Who won the drawing contest for the girls?
Peggy and Maddie hurried to their school as Miss Mason was to announce the results of the drawing contest. They did not wait for Wanda. When the girls reached their school, they were surprised. There were hundreds of designs of dresses displayed in the room. Then Miss Mason announced the names of the winners. Jack Beggles had won for the boys. She said that all the hundred designs of dresses had been made by one girl and she had won the medal. Her name was Wanda Petronski. But Wanda was absent. The children clapped their hands in joy. Maddie asked Peggy to look at the blue dress about which Wanda had told them earlier. They appreciated the drawings made by Wanda.

2. What made Maddie feel uncomfortable and uneasy when Peggy and other girls made fun of Wanda Petronski?
Peggy and other girls used to make fun of Wanda by asking her about her hundred dresses. In fact, Wanda said that she had a hundred dresses but wore the same faded blue dress every day. Maddie who was herself poor and wore hand-me-down clothes mostly of Peggy with a little alteration. She felt uncomfortable when others teased Wanda perhaps because it reminded her of her own poverty. She could not see Wanda in that miserable condition. She thought it was cruel to make fun of anyone’s poverty. She used to feel uneasy but remained a silent spectator. She feared that if she opposed she could be the next target.

Questions from the text book. 

Thinking about the Text

1. How is Wanda seen as different by the other girls? How do they treat her?
Wanda was a Polish girl while the other girls were American. She did not have any friends. She came to school alone and went home alone. She always wore a faded blue dress that did not fit her properly. Unlike others, she did not talk to anybody. The other girls teased her and had fun with her. They would surround her, and Peggy would ask how many dresses and shoes she had. Wanda would reply that she had a hundred dresses and sixty pairs of shoes. They would continue teasing her and then let her go. Before she could go very far, they would burst into laughter.

2. How does Wanda feel about the dresses game? Why does she say that she has a hundred dresses?
Wanda did not show any feelings regarding the dresses game. It is likely that she was deeply hurt. It could have been one of the reasons why her family left the place and moved to the city. Probably, it was a child’s fantasy to possess a hundred dresses—a child who had only one dress to wear for school. The other children used to make fun of her poverty and would have laughed at her whatever she might have said. This could have been the reason for her exaggerating everything.

3. Why does Maddie stand by and not do anything? How is she different from Peggy? (Was Peggy’s friendship important to Maddie? Why? Which lines in the text tell you this?)

Maddie always stood by and never did anything as she herself was poor and therefore, felt that if she spoke against the others, they would target her next. Unlike her, Peggy was a rich girl. This was also the reason why Maddie could think from Wanda’s point of view, but Peggy could not. Maddie was Peggy’s best friend. It seemed as if she was in awe of Peggy. She admired her quite a lot as she said that Peggy was the most liked girl in the room and that she drew better than anyone else. She did not have the courage to go against her. Some of the lines from the text which show that Peggy’s friendship was important to Maddie are as follows.
(i)Peggy, who had thought up this game, and Maddie, her inseparable friend, were always the last to leave.
(ii)She was Peggy’s best friend, Peggy was the best-liked girl in the room and she drew better than anyone else.
(iii)Peggy could not possibly do anything that was really wrong, she thought.
(iv)Oh, Maddie was sure Peggy would win.

4. What does Miss Mason think of Wanda’s drawings? What do the children think of them? How do you know?

Miss Mason said that Room Thirteen should be proud of Wanda as she had drawn one hundred designs of dresses, all of which were beautiful and different. She told the students that in the opinion of the judges, any one of the drawings was worthy of winning the prize. She was very happy to announce Wanda as the winner. She then asked the entire class to look at Wanda’s exquisite drawings. The children also admired the drawings. Everybody stopped and whistled or murmured admiringly. After Miss Mason had announced that Wanda was the winner, they burst into applause, and even the boys were glad to have a chance to stamp on the floor and whistle. Also, just as Peggy and Maddie entered the room, they stopped short and gasped. Later they recognized the designs as those which Wanda had described to them. And in the end, Peggy exclaimed, “…and I thought I could draw.” This shows that she also realized how good Wanda’s drawings were.

Thinking About Language

I. Combine the following to make sentences like those above.

1. This is the bus (what kind of bus?) It goes to (use which or that). 

This is the bus which goes to Agra.

2. I would like to buy (a) shirt (which shirt?). (The) a shirt is in the shop window. (use which or that)

I would like to buy a shirt that is in the shop window.

3. You must break your fast at a particular time (when?). You see the moon in the sky. (use when)

You must break your fast when you see the moon in the sky.

4. Find a word (what kind of word?). It begins with the letter (use which or that).

Find a word which begins with the letter

5. Now find a person (what kind of person). His or her name begins with the letter Z. (use whose)

Now find a person whose name begins with the letter Z.

6. Then go to a place (what place?). There are no people whose name begins with Z in that place. (use where)

Then go to a place where there are no people whose name begins with Z.

II. Can you say whose point of view the italicised words express?

(i) But on Wednesday, Peggy and Maddie, who sat down front with other children who got good  marks and who didn’t track in a whole lot of mud, did notice that Wanda wasn’t there.

In the given sentence, the italicised words express the point of view of Peggy and Maddie.

(ii)Wands Most of the children in Room Thirteen didn’t have names like that. They had names easy to say, like Thomas, Smith or Allen.

In the given sentence, the italicised words express the point of view of the narrator.

III. Look at this sentence. The italicised adverb expresses an opinion or point of view. Use these

words appropriately in the blanks in the sentences below.

1. Surprisingly, he finished his work on time.

2. Hopefully, it will not rain on the day of the match

3. Evidently, he had been stealing money from his employer.

4. Television is evidently to blame for the increase in violence in society.

5. The children will hopefully learn from their mistakes.

6. I can’t possibly lend you that much money.

7. The thief had apparently been watching the house for many days.

8. The thief possibly escaped by bribing the jailor.

9. Surprisingly, no one had suggested this before.

10. The water was incredibly hot.

PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Q1.Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow. 

(a) She sat in the corner of the room where the rough boys who did not make good marks sat, the corner of the room where there was most scuffling of feet, most roars of laughter when anything funny was said, and most mud and dirt on the floor.

i. Where did Wanda Petronski usually sit?

a. on the first bench

b. next to the window

c. in the corner next to the last seat in the last row

d. in front of those who got good marks

ii. How did most of the boys create fun in the classroom?

a. by playing games

b. by calling names

c. by flying aeroplanes in the class

d. by scuffling their feet on the ground and laughing loudly

iii.When did Maddie and Peggy notice Wanda’s absence?

a. Wednesday

b. Monday

c. Tuesday

d. Friday

iv. Find the word from the passage which means ‘noisy dragging movements of the feet on the ground’.

a. scuffling

b. rough

c. funny

d. laughter

(b) The time when they thought about Wanda was outside of school hours — at noon-time when they were coming back to school or in the morning early before school began, when groups of two or three, or even more, would be talking and laughing on their way to the school yard.

i. Where did Wanda come from to school?

a. Boggins Heights

b. Poland

c. United States of America

d. Petronski Heights

ii.When did Wanda’s classmates think of her?

a. during school hours

b. during lunch break

c. outside of school hours

d. during exams

iii. Why did Wanda’s classmates wait for Wanda?

a. to play with her

b. to have fun with her

c. to accompany her back home

d. to ask for her notes

iv. Find the word from the passage which means ‘an area outside a building’.

a. yard

b. school

c. time

d. way

Q2 Answer the following questions in 30-40 words each.

(a) How did Peggy make fun of Wanda Petronski? 

Peggy would wait to make fun of Wanda at school. She would most courteously ask her, how many dresses she had hanging in her closet. Wanda would reply that there were a hundred. Peggy would then ask about the dress material, and when Wanda walked away, would burst into laughter, sarcastically making fun of her. 

(b) When and why do Peggy and Maddie notice Wanda’s absence? 

Peggie and Maddie noticed Wanda’s absence after three days, i.e., on Wednesday. They finally noticed her absence because Wanda had got them late for school. They had waited for her in order to have some fun, but she did not turn up. 

(c) Maddie wrote a note for Peggy but she tore it away. Why? 

Maddie wanted that Peggy should stop teasing and making fun of Wanda. So she wrote a note to Peggy. But she lacked the courage to give that note to Peggy fearing she would become the next target for teasing in school. Hence, she tore the note. 

(d) Did Wanda have a hundred dresses? Why do you think she said she had? 

No, she did not have a hundred dresses because she was poor and wore the same faded dress to school every day. Probably, it was her fantasy to possess a hundred dresses. The other children used to make fun of her poverty which could have been the reason for her exaggerating everything.

Q3 Answer the following questions in in 100 -150 words.

(a) Wanda had no friends and nobody liked to talk to her. Do you think such an attitude of children towards Wanda is justified? Is it right to judge people on the basis of their social status? If no, then what values should such people imbibe?
Wanda was a quiet girl who rarely laughed out loud. She didn’t have any friend and always come to school and went home alone. Children made fun of her because she had a funny name and also because she came to school wearing the same faded blue dress every day. Although, she claimed she had a hundred dresses.This type of attitude is not justified.It is not at all right to judge people on the basis of their social status. Although Wanda did not have the actual dresses she must have always wanted to possess them. That is why may be she drew beautiful dresses using her imagination. People, who judge others on their socio-economic background, need to learn that such things are not the parameters to judge a person’s capabilities. They should learn to respect others.

(b) Give the character sketch of Wanda Petronski.
Wanda Petronski was a Polish girl. Her family had immigrated to America. She studied in a school with other American students. She belonged to a very poor family. Daily she came to school in a faded blue dress. It was clean but not properly ironed. She used to sit in the corner of room number thirteen in the last row. This was a corner where the rough boys, who did not get good marks, sat. Wanda did not sit there because she was rough and noisy. On the contrary, she was very quiet. She came on foot from Boggins Heights area and brought a lot of dirt with her shoes. She did not speak much in the class. No one had ever heard her laugh. Other girls in her class would tease her but she would never fight back. She used her imagination to make designs of hundred dresses and won the drawing and colouring contest.