The Hundred Dresses I
INTRODUCTION—
The Hundred Dresses-I, II is a story based on the true experiences of the author about a girl who is teased by her classmates because she is different. Wanda Petronski, a girl who comes from the poor part of the town, is the only student in her class with a ‘funny’ Polish name. The story is told from the perspective of one of Wanda’s classmates, Maddie, who is the best friend of the main player in the daily taunting and teasing.
SUMMARY—
Wanda Petronski was a poor Polish girl. She lived on Boggins Heights. She joined an American school.She was different from other girls in many ways—her name was uncommon, she was a quiet girl and had no friends. She wore the same pale blue dress every day.
Wanda used to sit in the corner on the last but one seat of the classroom where noisy and rough boys,who got low marks, sat. There was a lot of dirt, mud and scuffing of feet in that area. Peggy and Maddie were close friends. Peggy was pretty, had curly hair and wore beautiful dresses. She was the most liked girl of Wanda’s class. She often made fun of Wanda by asking her questions about her hundred dresses in a mocking, polite voice. Maddie wanted Peggy to stop teasing Wanda but she could never muster (gather) courage to tell her that. She used to feel uncomfortable of that. Perhaps it reminded her of her own poverty.
Wanda, though a quiet girl, spoke a lot about her hundred dresses. She told the girls that her dresses were made of velvet or silk. All had different colours and designs. She specially mentioned her two dresses—one pale blue with coloured trimmings and the other bright, green with red sash. Wanda’s absence from school was not noticed for two days but on the third day Peggy and Maddie who missed the fun of laughing at her, waited for her at the corner of Oliver street where they used to meet her on their way to school. But Wanda did not turn up and they got late for school.
Next day, it was drizzling. Peggy and Maddie did not wait for Wanda. They never wanted to be late for the school because they were anxious to know the result of the competition. It was to be announced that day.
As they entered their classroom, they stopped and gasped. Hundred drawings of bright and beautiful and differently designed dresses were displayed all over the room. Everyone, who entered the room, murmured with admiration.
Miss Mason announced the result. Among the boys, Jack Boggles had won and among the girls Wanda Petronski. She asked the students to give her a special applause (though she was not present to enjoy it).
She had submitted hundred sketches and every sketch was worth winning the best price.
Choose the correct answer.
Question. Peggy and Maddie made fun of Wanda because:
(i) Wanda always felt proud of having hundred dresses.
(ii) what Wanda claimed was in contradition to the fact.
(iii) Wanda also looked down upon Peggy and Maddie.
(iv) Wanda belonged to a poor family.
Answer. B
Question.“The next day, Tuseday, Wanda was in school, either. And nobody noticed her absence again”. It reflects that:
(i) Wanda’s classmates were self-centred.
(ii) Wanda’s classmates avoided a poor person.
(iii) Wanda’s classmates were of unfriendly nature.
(iv) Wanda didn’t have any intimate friend in the class.
Answer. D
Question. Why do you think Peggy was the most popular girl in school?
(i) She was pretty.
(ii) She had many pretty clothes.
(iii) Her hair was curly.
(iv) All of these.
Answer. D
Question. Peggy protected small children from:
(i) bullies.
(ii) powerful boys.
(iii) dangers.
(iv) all risks.
Answer. A
Question. If Peggy saw an animal mistreated, she:
(i) would enjoy the fun.
(ii) would not be happy.
(iii) would be quite sad.
(iv) would cry for hours.
Answer. D
Question. What kind of girl was Wanda in Peggy’s eyes?
(i) Liar
(ii) Intelligent
(iii) Cunning
(iv) Clever
Answer. A
Question. Jack Beggles won the drawing competition for drawing an outboard motor which was best among:
(i) the boys of Room Twelve.
(ii) all boys’ and girls’ drawings.
(iii) all boys’ drawings.
(iv) All of these.
Answer. C
Question. How did Miss Mason feel while announcing the name of the winner among girls?
(i) Angry
(ii) Envious
(iii) Sad
(iv) Proud
Answer. D
Question. Miss Mason says, “I am very happy to …”. Which phrase DOES NOT replace the underlined phrase correctly from those given below?
(i) It gives me great pleasure to…
(ii) I am sure you’ll be surprised to…
(iii) I am delighted to…
(iv) It fills me with joy to…
Answer. B
Question. The teacher refers to Wanda’s designs as ‘exquisite’ because:
(i) each one of the hundred designs was different.
(ii) each one of them was very beautiful.
(iii) each of them was a copy of the latest fashion trend.
(iv) each one had the same colour theme as the other.
Answer. B
Extract Based Questions
Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow :
1.She worked her arithmetic problems absent mindedly. “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”.
Question. Who does she refer to ?
a. Peggy
b. Maddie
c. Wanda
d. Ruby
Answer.b. Maddie
Question.In what way was she doing her work ?
a. attentively
b. actively
c. happily
d. absent-mindedly
Answer.d. absent-mindedly
Question. Find a word from the passage which means the same as ‘nerve’.
a. courage
b. problems
c. arithmetic
d. wished
Answer.a. courage
Question. What quality was required by Maddie ?
a. strength
b. determination
c. courage
d. self-confidence
Answer. c. courage
Question. From now on Maddie will not make anybody else what?
a. feel good
b. happy
c. unhappy
d. embarrassing
Answer.c. unhappy
Short Answer Type Questions
Question. How can you say that Maddie was different from Peggy ?
Answer. Maddie belonged to a poor family. She always wore old clothes. She also felt sympathy for Wanda. Maddie did not like Peggy when she made fun of Wanda. She decided not to mock Wanda at one time.
Question. Why was Maddie sure Peggy would win the dress designing contest ?
Answer. Peggy drew designs better than anyone else in the class and could copy a picture of film star’s head with such precision that no one could recognize it from the magazine. Maddie thought that Peggy would win the girls medal.
Question. 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 blue faded dress.
Long Answer Type Questions
Question. Though Peggy and Maddie made fun of Wanda, she gifted them her special drawings. In the light of this statement write a character sketch of Wanda Petronski.
Answer. Wanda Petronski was a Polish girl at an American School. Her name sounded unfamiliar to the other students who made fun of her name. They also teased her by asking her about her hundred dresses which she claimed she had but wore the same faded blue dress every day, she never felt embarrassed. She was cool headed and tolerant. Others called her a liar but she knew that she was truthful as she did have a hundred dresses but only the drawings not the real ones. Wanda had gifted two of her special drawings to Peggy and Maddie with their faces on the respective drawings. This showed that she liked them in spite of their teasing her. Gifting those drawings to them was also her way of making them realise their mistake. She was a large-hearted, understanding, forgiving, talented and intelligent girl.
