Class X - (First Flight) Chap-5 -The Hundred Dresses Part 1-by El Bsor Ester

                   The Hundred Dresses - I

by El Bsor Ester

 

 

Introduction

The lesson “The Hundred Dresses I” is about a girl named Wanda who claims to have one hundred dresses. Her classmates made fun of her because what she claims is in contradiction to the fact that she was always seen wearing the same dress. Her classmates found her name to be “funny”. It was because everyone had “easier” names than ‘Wanda Petronski’. Her name was different because she was a Polish immigrant who had come to an American town with her family. She was poor and did not have many friends. She was quiet and was always seen sitting in the corner of the classroom. The truth about the hundred dresses unveiled when she submitted her hundred drawings in a drawing contest. They were the same hundred dresses she used to talk about. All of them were immensely beautiful.

The Hundred Dresses Summary-

The story is about a quiet and shy girl named Wanda Petronski, a Polish immigrant, who had come to America with her family. She attended school with American children who found her name to be strange and probably,  the weirdest in the classroom. This is because they all had easier names. She was poor and was always seen wearing a faded blue dress. Her classmates teased her because she claimed to have a hundred dresses “all lined up” in her closet albeit, always being seen wearing one. The ones who mainly teased her were the two best friends, Peggy and Maddie. Peggy was the most famous girl in school while anyone barely knew Wanda.

Peggy and Maddie used to wait for Wanda before school even if it meant getting late. Maddie, a poor girl herself did not like when Peggy made fun of Wanda. She feared that she could be next. She wanted Peggy to stop making fun of Wanda, but could not summon courage to face her as she feared she’d lose her best friend. However, Peggy’s intention was never to hurt Wanda but she was curious as to why Wanda had to lie that she had a hundred dresses in her closet.

Truth about the same hundred dresses unveiled on the result day of the drawing competition. The room was lined with one hundred drawings portraying different dresses, each so beautiful. That day, she truly had “a hundred dresses all lined up”, but in the classroom. At that moment, Peggy and Maddie, who were awestruck realised the theory of a hundred dresses and felt guilty about having treated her badly

 

About the Characters

Wanda Petonski- A poor polish girl with a funny name, who wears same blue dress always and boasts of having a hundred dresses.
Peggy- Always teases Wanda, creates a game to ask Wanda about dresses, different from others, never made Wanda cry by teasing, the most popular and pretty girl in the school.
Maddie- Always teases Wanda, very close friend of Peggy, a poor girl but never boasts like Wanda.
Miss Mason- Wanda’s class teacher, who helps the students and supports them.

 Lesson and Explanation

Text -TODAY, Monday, Wanda Petronski was not in her seat. But nobody, not even Peggy and Madeline, the girls who started all the fun, noticed her absence. Usually 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 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. Wanda did not sit there because she was rough and noisy. On the contrary, she was very quiet and rarely said anything at all. And nobody had ever heard her laugh out loud. Sometimes she twisted her mouth into a crooked sort of smile, but that was all.

Scuffling of feet- noisy, dragging movements of the feet on the ground

EXP- This story revolves around a girl named Wanda Petronski and her classmates, Peggy and Madeline who made fun of her. The plot of the story opens up on Monday. Even Peggy and Madeline did not notice that Wanda was not present. These were the girls who began all the teasing. Wanda generally used to sit in the corner of the classroom where the not-so-academically brilliant and loud guys sat. It was that part of the classroom which was the dirtiest but Wanda was not like those boys. She was silent to the extent that nobody had ever seen her laugh.

Text -Nobody knew exactly why Wanda sat in that seat, unless it was because she came all the way from Boggins Heights and her feet were usually caked with dry mud. But no one really thought much about Wanda Petronski, once she sat in the corner of the room. 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. Then, sometimes, they waited for Wanda — to have fun with her.

Since Wanda was nothing like those boys, no one ever understood why she sat there. There were only guesses that it is because she came from Boggins Heights and her shoes were usually dirty with all the mud. People hardly noticed her in the classroom as she was silent and alone all the time. It was only before or after school hours when groups of kids used to wait for her to mock her that they thought of her . Some used to wait even at the cost of getting late for school.

Text -The next day, Tuesday, Wanda was not in school, either. And nobody noticed her absence again. 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. Peggy was the most popular girl in school. She was pretty, she had many pretty clothes and her hair was curly. Maddie was her closest friend. The reason Peggy and Maddie noticed Wanda’s absence was because Wanda had made them late to school. They had waited and waited for Wanda, to have some fun with her, and she just hadn’t come. They often waited for Wanda Petronski — to have fun with her.

The fact that Wanda was not present on Tuesday as well, got unnoticed. But it was on Wednesday when Maddie and Peggy noticed her absence. It was also then when they waited before school to make fun of her but instead ended up getting late because she didn’t show up. Peggy was the most famous girl who wore good and tidy clothes. She sat with the toppers of the class. No one ever got curious about why Wanda was no longer coming to school. All they cared was, they couldn’t make fun of her.

Text -Wanda Petronski. Most of the children in Room Thirteen didn’t have names like that. They had names easy to say, like Thomas, Smith or Allen. There was one boy named Bounce, Willie Bounce, and people thought that was funny, but not funny in the same way that Petronski was.

Wanda was a Pole who had immigrated to America. Her fellow classmates thought that “Wanda Petronski” was a strange name because they had simpler and easier “American” names except a guy named Willie Bounce which they thought sounded funny but still lesser than “Petronski”. They found her name to be long and unfamiliar. This shows that those children didn’t understand diversity and whatever they did was done out of thoughtlessness.

Text -Wanda didn’t have any friends. She came to school alone and went home alone. She always wore a faded blue dress that didn’t hang right. It was clean, but it looked as though it had never been ironed properly. She didn’t have any friends, but a lot of girls talked to her. Sometimes, they surrounded her in the school yard as she stood watching the little girls play hopscotch on the worn hard ground.

Didn’t hang right- didn’t fit properly

Hopscotch- a game in which children hop into and over squares marked on the ground

Wanda was usually seen wearing a faded blue dress that did not fit her properly. Though clean, it used to look un-ironed. This shows that Wanda belonged to a poor family who could not afford too many dresses. Ironically, a lot of people talked to her but she didn’t have any friends because all of them talked to her in order to make fun of her. From her tale about a hundred dresses to her unfamiliar name, they found it all amusing. When she used to watch little girls play in the ground, it was at that time other students surrounded her to mock her. 

Text -“Wanda,” Peggy would say in a most courteous manner as though she were talking to Miss Mason. “Wanda,” she’d say, giving one of her friends a nudge, “tell us. How many dresses did you say you had hanging up in your closet?” “A hundred,” Wanda would say. “A hundred!” exclaimed all the little girls incredulously, and the little ones would stop playing hopscotch and listen. “Yeah, a hundred, all lined up,” said Wanda. Then her thin lips drew together in silence. “What are they like? All silk, I bet,” said Peggy. “Yeah, all silk, all colours.” “Velvet, too?” “Yeah, velvet too. A hundred dresses,” Wanda would repeat stolidly. “All lined up in my closet.” Then they’d let her go. And then before she’d gone very far, they couldn’t help bursting into shrieks and peals of laughter

Nudge- a gentle push
Incredulously- showing unwillingness to believe
Courteous- polite, respectful
Stolidly- calm, dependable, and showing little emotion and animation
Shrieks- scream

With no intentions of hurting her, Peggy used to ask the number of dresses Wanda has in a very polite and respectful tone. They made fun of her because they couldn’t understand why she made up that story about a hundred dresses. They did all this while being ignorant of the fact that it could hurt her.  No one would believe her when she said she possessed a hundred dresses, all lined up in her closet. As the other girls screamed in astonishment,the little girls would stop playing in order to see what was going on. Wanda would affirm their queries that she had dresses made of velvet and silk too. Sadly, after she left, they all used to laugh at her.

Text -A hundred dresses! Obviously, the only dress Wanda had was the blue one she wore every day. So why did she say she had a hundred? What a story! “How many shoes did you say you had?” “Sixty pairs. All lined up in my closet.” Cries of exaggerated politeness greeted this.

“All alike?” “Oh, no. Every pair is different. All colours. All lined up.” Peggy, who had thought up this game, and Maddie, her inseparable friend, were always the last to leave. Finally Wanda would move up the street, her eyes dull and her mouth closed, hitching her left shoulder every now and then in the funny way she had, finishing the walk to school alone.

 

Exaggerated- overemphasize

Her eyes dull- having eyes wanting brightness, liveliness, and vivacity

It was hard to believe what Wanda said because the only dress she was seen wearing was the blue one that was faded. No one was sure as to why she lied. Although they were teasing her, they were never rude to her. Thus, in the same tone they continued asking her about the number of shoes she said she had to which, she replied “sixty”, each pair different. It was Peggy’s idea to embarrass her like that, though she was polite. Peggy and Maddie, the inseparable friends were the last ones to leave school while Wanda would go back all alone with her dull eyes and behaved in a strange way.

Text -Peggy was not really cruel. She protected small children from bullies. And she cried for hours if she saw an animal mistreated. If anybody had said to her, “Don’t you think that is a cruel way to treat Wanda?” she would have been very surprised. Cruel? Why did the girl say she had a hundred dresses? Anybody could tell that that was a lie. Why did she want to lie? And she wasn’t just an ordinary person, else why did she have a name like that? Anyway, they never made her cry.

Bullies- someone who hurts or frightens someone else, often over a period of time, and forcing them to do something that they do not want to do.
Mistreated- to treat someone badly

Peggy was not the mean girl she had been portrayed as until now. She saved kids from whoever was hurting them and couldn’t stand animals getting badly treated. According to her, she was not being rude to Wanda. She thought it was very weird of Wanda to lie about the number of dresses she possessed and if anything was weirder, it was her name. No matter how much they teased Wanda, they never made her cry.

Text -As for Maddie, this business of asking Wanda every day how many dresses and how many hats, and how many this and that she had was bothering her. Maddie was poor herself. She usually wore somebody’s hand-me-down clothes. Thank goodness, she didn’t live up on Boggins Heights or have a funny name.

Maddie did not like the idea of making fun of the number of clothes and accessories Wanda possessed not because she cared about her, but because she was poor herself. She wore clothes that were given to her by someone else but she was not as poor as Wanda, she did not live in Boggins Heights and did not even have a weird name.

Text -Sometimes, when Peggy was asking Wanda those questions in that mocking polite voice, Maddie felt embarrassed and studied the marbles in the palm of her hand, rolling them around and saying nothing herself. Not that she felt sorry for Wanda, exactly. She would never have paid any attention to Wanda if Peggy hadn’t invented the dresses game. But suppose Peggy and all the others started in on her next? She wasn’t as poor as Wanda, perhaps, but she was poor. Of course she would have more sense than to say she had a hundred dresses. Still she would not like for them to begin on her. She wished Peggy would stop teasing Wanda Petronski.

Maddie didn’t feel very comfortable teasing Wanda and when Peggy used to ask Wanda those questions, she would silently count the marbles in her hand pretending to play with them. If that dress game hadn’t been invented, Maddie would have never known about the very existence of Wanda. She felt uncomfortable not because she cared about Wanda but because she was worried she could be next. Although she was not senseless enough to say she had hundred dresses, she still wished that Peggy did not tease Wanda.

Text -Today, even though they had been late to school, Maddie was glad she had not had to make fun of Wanda. She worked her arithmetic problems absentmindedly. “Eight times eight — let’s see…” She wished she had the nerve to write Peggy a note, because she knew she never would have the courage to speak right out to Peggy, to say, “Hey, Peg, let’s stop asking Wanda how many dresses she has.” When she finished her arithmetic she did start a note to Peggy.
Absentmindedly- distracted

Wanda didn’t come that day and after having waited for her so long, Maddie and Peggy got late for school. Maddie was secretly happy that they could not get a chance to make fun of Wanda. She was lost in her own thoughts and couldn’t study properly. All this time, she kept thinking about writing a note to Peggy telling her to stop making fun of Wanda which she did write, after finishing arithmetic. She wanted to write a note because she knew she did not have the guts to say it on her face.

Text -Suddenly she paused and shuddered. She pictured herself in the school yard, a new target for Peggy and the girls. Peggy might ask her where she got the dress that she had on, and Maddie would have to say it was one of Peggy’s old ones that Maddie’s mother had tried to disguise with new trimmings so no one in Room Thirteen would recognise it.

Shuddered- shake, tremble
Disguise- to give a different appearance to conceal its identity

While writing the note to Peggy, Maddie shook at the imagination of her being a new target for Peggy and the girls. She was afraid that they would ask where she got that dress from, which was actually Peggy’s. Maddie’s mother got it transformed with new laces and ribbons so that none of her classmates could identify it.

Text -If only Peggy would decide of her own accord to stop having fun with Wanda. Oh, well! Maddie ran her hand through her short blonde hair as though to push the uncomfortable thoughts away. What difference did it make? Slowly Maddie tore into bits the note she had started. She was Peggy’s best friend, and Peggy was the best-liked girl in the whole room. Peggy could not possibly do anything that was really wrong, she thought.

She wished Peggy stopped having fun with Wanda on her own. Suddenly she “ran her hand through her hair” as a gesture to drive away all those thoughts. She said to herself, Peggy is the most-liked girl in the room, her best friend and so, she couldn’t be wrong. Thus, she tore and threw that note away. She was also afraid of losing her friend Peggy.

Text -As for Wanda, she was just some girl who lived up on Boggins Heights and stood alone in the school yard. She scarcely ever said anything to anybody. The only time she talked was in the school yard about her hundred dresses. Maddie remembered her telling about one of her dresses, pale blue with coloured trimmings. And she remembered another that was brilliant jungle green with a red sash.

“You’d look like a Christmas tree in that,” the girls had said in pretended admiration.

Scarcely- hardly; barely
Trimmings- decoration
Sash- a long strip or loop of cloth worn over one shoulder or round the waist, especially as part of a uniform or official dress
Pretended- not genuine
Admiration- respect and warm approval

After Maddie had cleared her thoughts about confessing to Peggy, she started thinking about Wanda. She thought that Wanda was just another girl living in Boggins Heights who hardly spoke to anybody. She remembers when Wanda talked about her pale blue dress and jungle green dress paired with a red sash. The girls made fun of her by saying that she’d rather look like a Christmas tree in that dress.

Text -Thinking about Wanda and her hundred dresses all lined up in the closet, Maddie began to wonder who was going to win the drawing and colouring contest. For girls, this contest consisted of designing dresses and for boys, of designing motorboats. Probably Peggy would win the girls’ medal. Peggy drew better than anyone else in the room. At least, that’s what everybody thought. She could copy a picture in a magazine or some film star’s head so that you could almost tell who it was. Oh, Maddie was sure Peggy would win. Well, tomorrow the teacher was going to announce the winners. Then they’d know.

While thinking about Wanda, Maddie began thinking about the drawing contest in which the boys had to design motorboats and girls had to design dresses. Peggy was the obvious winner of that competition because she was the best artist in the room. She could copy exact pictures and recognizable portraits. She was sure that Peggy would win and results were to be announced the next day when everyone would know what’s what.

Text -The next day it was drizzling. Maddie and Peggy hurried to school under Peggy’s umbrella. Naturally, on a day like this, they didn’t wait for Wanda Petronski on the corner of Oliver Street, the street that far, far away, under the railroad tracks and up the hill, led to Boggins Heights. Anyway, they weren’t taking chances on being late today, because today was important.

Drizzling- rain lightly
Hurried- quick

The day when the results were to be announced, it was raining lightly and thus, the two best friends ran quickly to school without waiting for Wanda. Generally, they used to wait for her at the Oliver Street that led to Boggins Heights, the place where Wanda lived but they didn’t wait that day. Even if it wasn’t raining that day, they wouldn’t have waited for her because the day was crucial as the results were to be announced.

Text -“Do you think Miss Mason will announce the winners today?” asked Peggy. “Oh, I hope so, the minute we get in,” said Maddie. “Of course, you’ll win, Peg.” “Hope so,” said Peggy eagerly. The minute they entered the classroom, they stopped short and gasped. There were drawings all over the room, on every ledge and windowsill, dazzling colours and brilliant, lavish designs, all drawn on great sheets of wrapping paper. There must have been a hundred of them, all lined up. These must be the drawings for the contest. They were! Everybody stopped and whistled or murmured admiringly. 

Gasped- catch one's breath with an open mouth, owing to pain or astonishment.
Ledge- shelf
Windowsill- ledge or sill forming the bottom part of a window
Dazzling- extremely impressive, beautiful, or skilful
Lavish- gorgeous
Murmured- say something in a low or distinct voice
Admiringly- in a way that shows respect or warm approval

When the best friends entered the classroom, Peggy asked Maddie if Miss Mason would announce the results or not, to which Maddie said ‘yes’. Maddie told her that she believed Peggy would win but to their utmost surprise, when they entered the class, there were drawings all over the room. Bright and brilliant, they left everyone in awe. These were the drawings for the contest.

Text -As soon as the class had assembled, Miss Mason announced the winners. Jack Beggles had won for the boys, she said, and his design for an outboard motor was on exhibition in Room Twelve, along with the sketches by all the other boys.

Assembled- gather together in one place for a common purpose

Miss Mason announced the winners after everyone had settled. Amongst the boys, Jack Beggles had won. He drew an outboard motor which was displayed in Room No. 12 along with drawings made by other boys.

Text -“As for the girls,” she said, “although just one or two sketches were submitted by most, one girl — and Room Thirteen should be proud of her — this one girl actually drew one hundred designs — all different and all beautiful. In the opinion of the judges, any one of the drawings is worthy of winning the prize. I am very happy to say that Wanda Petronski is the winner of the girls’ medal.

She then talked about girls’ submissions. She mentioned that there was one such girl who had submitted a hundred designs, each so beautiful that the judges felt that any out of them was worthy of the gold medal. Miss Mason very proudly announced Wanda as the winner of the competition.

Text -Unfortunately, Wanda has been absent from school for some days and is not here to receive the applause that is due to her. Let us hope she will be back tomorrow. Now class, you may file around the room quietly and look at her exquisite drawings.” The children burst into applause, and even the boys were glad to have a chance to stamp on the floor, put their fingers in their mouths and whistle, though they were not interested in dresses. “Look, Peg,” whispered Maddie. “There’s that blue one she told us about. Isn’t it beautiful?” “Yes,” said Peggy, “And here’s that green one. Boy, and I thought I could draw.”

She continued and sadly mentioned that Wanda has not been coming since days, hoping she’d be there the next day. She instructed everyone to look at the flawless collection to

which everyone applauded and whistled. Maddie and Peggy even saw the blue dress that Wanda had talked about, it was beautiful. Peggy sighed, “I thought I could draw” which means that the drawings left her in immense admiration.

Text Book - Question & Answers

Q1. Where in the classroom does Wanda sit and why?

A. Wanda used to sit in that corner of the classroom where the rough boys sat, the boys who got the lowest marks and had the loudest laughter. No one ever knew why she really sat there but there were guesses that it was because of the dirt her shoes carried from all the mud.

 

Q2. Where does Wanda live? What kind of a place do you think it is?

A. Wanda lived in Boggins Heights. According to the description given in the chapter, it was that part of the city or town where poor people lived. The place was filled with mud which is where Wanda got the dirt on her shoes from.

 

Q3. When and why do Peggy and Maddie notice Wanda’s absence?

A. On Wednesday, Peggy and Maddie noticed that Wanda was missing. They had been waiting for her outside school, before school began. As she did not come, they even got late for school. It was then that they realized her absence from school.

 

Q4. What do you think “to have fun with her” means?

A. “To have fun with her” means to tease her about the hundred dresses she claimed to have which is contradictory to the fact that she always wore the same faded blue dress.

 

Q5. In what way was Wanda different from the other children?

A. Wanda was a quiet and shy girl who had no friends. She had the weirdest name in her class which differentiated her from everyone else.

 

Q6. Did Wanda have a hundred dresses? Why do you think she said she did?

A. No, Wanda did not actually have a hundred dresses; she only had drawings of them. She was a poor girl who would have desired to have a closet full of hundred dresses, all lined up. That is why, she said that she did have them.

 

Q7. Why is Maddie embarrassed by the questions Peggy asks Wanda? Is she also like Wanda, or is she different?

A. Maddie is embarrassed by how Peggy deals with Wanda not because she cares about Wanda, but because she was poor herself and feared that one day, they would treat her the same way. Maddie is a poor girl but not as poor as Wanda and unlike Wanda, she had a lot of friends.

 Q8. Why didn’t Maddie ask Peggie to stop teasing Wanda? What was she afraid of?

A. Maddie did not ask Peggy to stop teasing Wanda because as she too was poor, she feared that she could be the next target for the girls. As Maddie wore hands down clothes given by Peggy, she was afraid that if they did not tease Wanda, then probably, they would start teasing her.

 

Q9. Who did Maddie think would win the drawing contest? Why?

A. Maddie thought that her best friend Peggie would win the Drawing contest because she was the best artist in the room.

 

Q10. Who won the drawing contest? What had the winner drawn?

A. Wanda had won the drawing contest. She had flawlessly drawn a hundred different dresses.

Q11. How is Wanda seen as different by the other girls? How do they treat her?

A. Other girls saw Wanda as poor and vulnerable. She had a strange name, did not make friends and remained quiet. She sat in the corner with the rough and noisy boys. Wanda always wore the same dress and came from a place full of mud on the roads. The other girls treated her badly and belittled her. They made fun of Wanda.

 

Q12. How does Wanda feel about the dresses game? Why does she say that she has a hundred dresses?

A. Wanda felt embarrassed and insulted when other girls played the dresses game on her. She claimed to have a hundred dresses in order to put those insults and jokes away. Actually, she was preparing drawings of a hundred dresses for the drawing competition and she referred to them when the girls asked her that how many dresses did she have.

 

Q13. 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?)

A. Maddie stands quietly and watches as Peggy humiliates Wanda because she felt that Peggy was high and mighty. Thus, Peggy could never be wrong. As Maddie was poor herself, she feared that she could be the next target for the girls to mock at. Also, Maddie did not tease Wanda while Peggy did. Yes, Peggy’s friendship was important to Maddie. The lines which indicate this are -
“Peggy was the most popular girl in school. She was pretty, she had many pretty clothes and her hair was curly. Maddie was her closest friend.”

 

Q14. What does Miss Mason think of Wanda’s drawings? What do the children think of them? How do you know?

A. Miss Mason thought of Wanda’s drawings to be wonderful. She even said that judges liked it so much and thought any one of them to be worthy of winning. The children too, were awestruck at the sight of such beautiful paintings. It is evident from the fact that the boys, who had no interest in dresses, were whistling and Peggy who thought of herself to be the best artist, accepted that Wanda’s drawings were amazing.

 

TEXT BOOK -  Grammar Exercises

Combine the following to make sentences like those above.

1. This is the bus (what kind of bus?). It goes to Agra. (use which or that)
2. I would like to buy (a) shirt (which shirt?). (The) shirt is in the shop window. (use which or that)
3. You must break your fast at a particular time (when?). You see the moon in the sky. (use when)
4. Find a word (what kind of word?). It begins with the letter Z. (use which or that)
5. Now find a person (what kind of person). His or her name begins with the letter Z. (use whose)
6. Then go to a place (what place?). There are no people whose name begins with Z in that place. (use where)

Answers

1. This is the bus which goes to Agra.
2. I would like to buy the 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.
4. Find a word that begins with the letter Z.
5. Now find a person whose name begins with the letter Z.
6. Then go to a place where there are no people whose name begins with Z.

 

Here are two other sentences from the story. 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.
(ii) Wanda Petronski. Most of the children in Room Thirteen didn’t have names like that. They had names easy to say, like Thomas, Smith or Allen.

Answers-
(i) The italicised words express the point of view of Peggy and Maddie.
(ii)The italicised words express the point of view of the narrator.

Other such adverbs are apparently, evidently, surprisingly, possibly, hopefully, incredibly, luckily. Use these words appropriately in the blanks in the sentences below. (You may use a word more than once, and more than one word may be appropriate for a given blank.)
1. _____________ , he finished his work on time.
2.  _____________, it will not rain on the day of the match.
3.  _____________, he had been stealing money from his employer.
4. Television is  _____________ to blame for the increase in violence in society.
5. The children will  _____________learn from their mistakes.
6. I can’t  _____________lend you that much money.
7. The thief  _____________ had been watching the house for many days.
8. The thief  _____________escaped by bribing the jailor.
9. _____________, no one had suggested this before.
10. The water was  _____________hot

Answer:
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 possibly 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 apparently had 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.

EXTRA - Question & Answers

Short Answer Type Questions 

Question 1. In what way was Wanda different from the other children ? 

 Answer: Wanda was an immigrant. She did not talk much. She was very serene and laughed rarely. She was a talented, patient and skilled girl. She used to wear dull and faded dress.

Question 2. Where in the classroom did Wanda sit and why ? 
Answer: Wanda felt it comfortable to sit at the back of the class where the noisy rough boys, who got low marks, sat. She did so as she was not well dressed and her feet were dirty.

Question 3. What was unusual about the dress of Wanda ? 
Answer: Wanda always wore a faded blue dress that didn’t fit her well. It was neat but it was wrinkled all over and required a good ironing. She always wore the same dress.

Question 4. What shows that Peggy was not really cruel ? 
Answer: Peggy was not really cruel. She protected small children from bullies. Not only this, she cried for hours if she saw an animal being mistreated.

Question 5. Why was Maddie sure Peggy would win the dress designing contest ? 
Answer: Peggy drew designs better than anyone else and could copy a picture of film star’s head with such precision that no one could recognize it.

Question 6. What kind of a girl was Peggy ? 
Answer: Peggy was most popular and pretty looking girl. She was hypocrite could be kind at one time and make fun of someone at other. She was a good artist, she protected children from bullies, cried when animals were ill treated, but made fun of Wanda.

Question 7. How did Wanda win the drawing competition ? Did anyone expect her victory ? 
Answer: Wanda won the drawing competition as she had drawn hundred dresses-all different, colourful and exquisite. All of them deserved a prize though nobody expected her victory because in routine, she used to wear the same wrinkled dress.

Question 8. Why did Maddie feel guilty of herself ? 
Answer: Maddie felt guilty of herself because she always supported Peggy for fun. She never stopped Peggy for making fun of Wanda. Later, she was remorseful to see the beautiful dresses gifted by Wanda.

Question 9. Why did Wanda’s house remind Maddie of Wanda’s blue dress ? 
Answer: Maddie was reminded of Wanda’s blue dress after looking at her house because the house and the sparse little yard looked shabby but it was clean like Wanda’s blue dress. The dress Wanda wore was always clean but not ironed, simple and humble.

Question 10. How can you say that Maddie was different from Peggy ? 
Answer: Maddie belonged to a poor family. She always wore old clothes. She also kept sympathy with Wanda. Maddie did not like Peggy when she made fun of Wanda.

Long Answer Type Questions (100-120 words)

Question 1. Describe the scene in which Peggy made fun of Wanda.
Answer: Paggy often mocked at Wanda due to her only one dress that too never ironed. She often made fun of her by asking her questions about the number of dresses Wanda had. Wanda, though a quiet girl, spoke a lot about her 100 dresses. Sshe told the girls that her dresses were made of velvet or silk. She also had sixty pairs of shoes. Listening to this, all the girls burst into laughter.

Question 2. Give the character sketch of Maddie.
Answer: Maddie was a poor girl who usually wore somebody’s hand-me-down clothes. Although she did not like Peggy making fun of Wanda, she did not say anything as she was afraid that Peggy would start making fun of her. Peggy’s friendship was important to her as Peggy was the most liked girl in the room. Maddie was not really a cruel girl, she only lacked courage.

Question 3. What was the effect of the letter of Wanda’s father on Miss Mason ? How did Maddie react to it ?
Answer: There was a deep silence in the class when Miss Mason read the letter. Whatever happened was due to thoughtlessness. It was also unfortunate and sad. She didn’t like that other students had hurt the feelings of Wanda just because she had a name which happened to be a long, unfamiliar one. She wanted everyone to think about it. On the other hand, Maddie had a sick feeling. She wanted to regret on her behaviour. She thought that she never wanted to hurt Wanda in this way.

Question 4. Did Maddie and Peggy get a reply ? Who was more anxious for a reply, Peggy or Maddie ? How do you know ? 
Answer: No, they did not get a reply from Wanda. Maddie was more anxious to get the reply. Peggy began to forget all about Wanda. But Maddie was always thinking of her. At night, before she could go to sleep, she often imagined how she would be defending Wanda from the crowd of girls who were trying to tease her.

Question 5. “Wanda Petronski liked Maddie and Peggy very much.” Give a reasoned answer.
Answer: Wanda wrote a letter to Miss Mason on the occasion of Christmas. She suggested Ihat Peggy should have the drawing of the green dress with red trimmings. For Maddie, she offered the blue dress. Maddie and Peggy concluded that Wanda had forgiven them. Also Maddie observed her and Peggy’s face in the respective gifts. So she knew that Wanda liked them and had forgiven them.

Question 6. ‘Appearance could be misleading’. Support this statement with reference to the story ‘The Hundred Dresses’. 
Answer: Wanda was a poor polish girl. She used to sit in a lonely corner of the classroom where the noisy rough boys sat. She always wore pale blue dress that was never ironed. Despite all that, she was highly intelligent and dignified. She was a talented artist and had drawn a hundred dresses for a drawing competition which she ultimately won. She won the heart of her classmates, when she gave those drawing to them.

Question 7. Pen down the character sketch of Wanda Petronski.
Answer: Wanda Petronski is a polish girl who has shifted in America from Poland with her parents. She is very poor and lives up on Boggins Heights. She is very shy and quiet. She does not talk to anyone. She has no friends and sits in the last row of the class with some naughty boys so that nobody notices her. She wears the same faded blue dress everyday which is not ironed but clean.
Everybody teases her in her class. In anger, she claims of having a hundred dresses and sixty pair of shoes at home. She- is very determined and shows her determination in the drawing competition by displaying the hundred sketches of dresses she claims to own. Each of them was so beautiful, that she wins the competition and surpasses Peggy.

Question 8. “The Hundred Dresses-I” is about teasing Wanda. It also borders on ragging and racism indirectly. Describe how does it affect you and how do you evaluate it?
Answer: The story ‘The Hundred Dresses-I’ is really all about teasing of Wanda being polish and having a strange name. They made fun of Wanda and made her feel inferior by asking her about her dresses. Their behaviour towards Wanda was completely undesirable as it shows racism and ragging. These are totally condemnable issues in the society which cannot be accepted.
Peggy and Maddie never thought of Wanda’s feelings and continued teasing her but her selection as a winner shows that colour, prejudice or racism are not the parameter of talent as everybody clapped for her drawings.