Extra Question
1. When did Miss Mason get a note? How did Miss Mason react to it?
Ans. Miss Mason got the note when everyone in the class was busy checking those outstanding drawings made by Wanda.
Miss Mason was disturbed as she read it several times and studies it thoroughly for a while.
2. “I have a letter from Wanda’s father that I want to read to you.”
- Who is the speaker?
- How did she prepare before she spoke?
Ans. The speaker of the above line is the teacher, Miss Mason.
The speaker announced that a letter was there from Wanda’s father and then adjusted her glasses slowly and deliberately.
3. What was in the letter? What tone of Wanda’s father could be noticed and why?
Ans. The letter was from Mr. Petronski, the father of Wanda Petronski. In the letter, it said that Wanda Petronski would not be coming to school from the next day. They were shifting to a big city. He added that no one would ask them about their names and no one would be able to tease them. This shows that they were quite hurt by the behaviour of the other students.
4. What was the effect (immediate) of the letter on the class? What did Miss Mason say after that?
Ans. Miss Manson was very disturbed after reading the letter. She took off her glasses, blew them and wiped them on her soft handkerchief. Then she put them on again.
Miss Mason told that she knew that the students had not done anything purposely and deliberately. She also told that they must have done this out of thoughtfulness. But it was really unfortunate as well as sad.
5. How was Maddie affected by the letter? How did she think herself responsible for what had happened with Wanda?
Ans. Maddie felt bad and realised her mistake. She could not concentrate on her studies. She had a very sick feeling in the bottom of her stomach.
Maddie was poor herself. She felt that she should have protested when Wanda was being teased. She considered her to be a coward. But she had never enjoyed when Wanda was being asked about her dresses. By this way, she thought herself responsible for what happened to Wanda.
6. How according to Maddie, she was wrong than Peggy in case of Wanda?
Ans. According to Maddie, she was wrong than Peggy. This is because Peggy might have teased her but she kept silent without protesting. She should have protested against this and her silence was as bad was Peggy had done. She considered herself to be a coward.
7. What would Maddie tell Wanda if she would meet her again?
Ans. Maddie wanted to meet Wanda. She wanted to apologise for everything she had done. Even she wanted to tell her that she didn’t want to hurt her feelings. She also wanted to tell her that she had won the competition and the drawings were beautiful and everyone in the class admired them.
8. What plan did Maddie make to do after the school ends? What would she tell Wanda then?
Ans. Maddie decided that she would visit Wanda’s house. In order to do so, she informed this to Peggy and they planned to visit her together.
She wanted to say sorry for whatever she had done. Maddie wanted to tell her that she didn’t want to hurt her feelings. She also wanted to tell her that she had won the competition and the drawings were beautiful and everyone in the class admired them.
9. What did Peggy say after the school ended? How did Maddie feel about it?
Ans. Peggy agreed with her and she seemed to be equally excited to visit Wanda’s house.
Maddie glowed up. She felt happy that Peggy was thinking the same.
10. How was the weather when they started for the Boggins Heights?
Ans. When they started for Boggins Heights, the part of the town wore a forbidding air. The weather was drizzly, damp and dismal.
11. How did Peggy try to save herself about bullying Wanda?
Ans. Peggy gave various excuses for her behaviour. She told that she had never called Wanda a foreigner or made fun of her name. She even told that Wanda might have made Peggy her inspiration. That was the reason her designs were so exquisite. By this way, Peggy tried to save herself about bullying Wanda.
12. What words did Maddie think inside her that she would tell to Wanda?
Ans. Maddie wanted to tell Wanda that they were sorry for everything they did. The whole school thought her to be wonderful. She thought that they would fight with anybody who was not nice.
13. How was the Boggins Heights?
Ans. The street towards Boggins Heights wore such a forbidding air, drizzly, damp and dismal. The house of the Petronski family was little but was clean.
14. Did they find Wanda and her family?
Ans. No, they didn’t find Wanda’s family as they had already left the place.
There was not a sign of life about the house. Peggy knocked firmly on the door but there was no answer. By this, they got to know that they had already left the place.
15. How did Peggy justify her bullying Wanda with the logic of her better sketches?
Ans. Peggy gave various excuses for her behaviour. She told that she had never called Wanda a foreigner or made fun of her name. She even told that Wanda might have made Peggy her inspiration. That was the reason her designs were so exquisite. By this way, Peggy justified her bullying Wanda with the logic of her better sketches.
16. How was the night of Maddie the day they visited Boggins Heights? What did she decide?
Ans. After returning from Boggins Heights, Maddie could not sleep that night. She thought about Wanda and her faded dress. She also thought about the little house where she lived. She thought about those hundred drawings that Wanda had made.
Maddie took a firm decision that she would protest when anyone would make fun of others because of their name or looks. Even if it meant losing Peggy’s friendship, she would not stop herself. She didn’t want the same situation to arise in any way.
She was thinking hard to do so as she felt guilty. She was poor herself but couldn’t save Wanda from being teased.
17. What was the resolution of Maddie for future bullyings?
Ans. Maddie took a firm decision that she would protest when anyone would make fun of others because of their name or looks. Even if it meant losing Peggy’s friendship, she would not stop herself. She didn’t want the same situation to arise in any way. She couldn’t do justice with Wanda but then she would never make anybody else unhappy again.
18. What was the content of the letter written by Maddie and Peggy? Could they write what they had thought about?
Ans. The girls wanted to apologise for their misbehaviour but instead it turned out to be a friendly letter as though they were writing it to their good friend. They described how pretty her drawings were. It was not only liked by them, but the whole class. They wrote asking about Wanda’s new teacher and the place where she was staying. They wanted to say sorry for their misdeeds. They signed it with lots of X’s for love.
No, they wanted to apologise for what they did in spite it turned out to be a friendly letter written for a good friend.
19. Was there any reply to the letter? What did they conclude about the letter?
Ans. No, there was no reply to the letter.
Days went by but no reply came from the other side, but the letter didn’t come back too. They thought that Wanda had perhaps read the letter but as she was so hurt and angry that she would never reply.
20. When there was no answer, what would Maddie do at night at sleep?
Ans. After they got no answer from Wanda, Maddie used to make speeches defending Wanda from the crowd of girls who were trying to tease her. She used to think of the same situation where everyone was asking Wanda about the number of dresses she had, and then Maddie would come and tell everyone to stop. After this, the girls would feel ashamed of what they had done.
21. How was the Christmas vibe around?
Ans. The Christmas vibe was all around the city. There was snow on the ground. Christmas bells and a small tree were used to decorate the classroom. Outside the grocery store, hundreds of Christmas trees were stacked and cornucopias of shiny, transparent paper were strung. The air smelled like Christmas and light shining everywhere reflected different colours in the snow.
22. What was in the second letter by Wanda’s side?
Ans. Wanda wrote a letter to Miss Mason. There she asked her to tell the girls that they can keep those hundred dresses as in her new house she had hundreds of them lined up in the closet. She wanted to give the drawing of the green dress with red trimmings to Peggy and the blue dress to Maddie. She also told that she was missing the school and greeted everyone Merry Christmas.
23. How did Peggy and Maddie conclude that Wanda liked them?
Ans. The girls got to know that Wanda liked them from the letter that Wanda had sent to their teacher Miss. Mason. She had asked her teacher to give the green dress with red trimmings to Peggy and the blue dress to Maddie. Later on, Maddie noticed the head and face of the drawing. To her surprise, she noticed that Wanda had drawn her and seeing this she ran to Peggy. There, they noticed that the painting was of Peggy’s. It was absolutely looking like Peggy. By this, concluded that Wanda liked them.
24. What surprising thing did Maddie find about the dress one day?
Ans. After Maddie went home, she pinned Wanda’s drawing over a torn-place in the pink-flowered wallpaper in the bedroom. She was looking at the picture and saw that the colours in the dress were so vivid that she scarcely noticed the face and head of the drawing. To her utter surprise, she found the girl in the drawing to be herself. It was the exact copy of her. Seeing this, she ran to Peggy and when checked her drawing, found that the girl in the drawing was none other than Peggy.
- At Peggy’s place in her dress too, what did they find? How did they interpret that Wanda liked them?
Ans. At Peggy’s place in her dress too, they found that the girl in the drawing was actually Peggy herself.
They interpreted that Wanda must have liked them otherwise she wouldn’t have drawn them. Their eyes blinked with tears.
Extra Questions (5 marks)
1. Justify the title of the story.
Ans. The story “The Hundred Dresses” by Eleanor Estes is justified. In the story, Wanda Petrosnki was a girl from a poor family who gets teased everyday in the school for her dresses. She was asked about the number of dresses she had. She used to tell that she had hundreds of them, all lined up. When she was asked about the number of dresses, she would reply that she had sixty pairs of them. A drawing contest was being conducted in the school. There Wanda had drawn hundreds of designs of dresses, each one of which was of different colours and designs. The teachers announced that each of them had the capacity of winning the contest. Everyone in the classroom appreciated her efforts. But then came the letter from Wanda’s father informing about her leaving the city and the school as well. Maddie and Peggy tried to apologise but it was too late as the family had already left the city. But they wrote a letter to her informing about how they felt. On the Christmas day, a letter arrived to Miss Mason from Wanda asking her to give Maddie and Peggy the dresses as she had hundreds of them in her new home; all lined up in the closet. Later one, the girls got to know that Wanda had actually drawn them.
2. Evaluate Maddie to be sensible and emotional girl.
Ans. Maddie was one of the important characters in the story “The Hundred Dresses” by Eleanor Estes. Maddie was also from a poor family and she understood the feelings of Wanda. Maddie never enjoyed whenever Wanda was teased for her dresses, but she couldn’t do anything for her and kept silent. At times, she thought of protesting against this. But she couldn’t do so, as she was afraid of losing Peggy’s friendship. When she got to know that Wanda had left the school, she felt guilty. She thought that her silence was as bad as Peggy’s misbehaviour and perhaps the worst. She couldn’t concentrate on her studies. She felt if she would be able to meet her then she would apologise for what she had done. She planned to visit her home and decided that she would tell her about her beautiful drawings. But when she reached there she found that the family had already left the place. She felt sad and then along with Peggy wrote a letter which was meant to be an apologizing one but instead it turned out to be a friendly letter. Maddie was more curious about the reply nut when she got no answer; she started making speeches defending Wanda. This proves that Maddie is indeed a sensible and emotional girl.
3. How do you think we should deal with bullies in educational institutions? Take reference from the story and discuss.
Ans. In the story “The Hundred Dresses” by Eleanor Estes, Wanda was the girl who was bullied all the time as she had a different name from others. She was a girl from a poor family who gets teased every day in the school for her dresses. She was asked about the number of dresses she had. She used to tell that she had hundreds of them, all lined up. When she was asked about the number of dresses, she would reply that she had sixty pairs of them. A drawing contest was being conducted in the school. There Wanda had drawn hundreds of designs of dresses, each one of which was of different colours and designs. The teachers announced that each of them had the capacity of winning the contest. Everyone in the classroom appreciated her efforts. The letter from Wanda’s father arrived informing about her leaving the city and the school as well. On the Christmas day, a letter arrived to Miss Mason from Wanda asking her to give Maddie and Peggy the dresses as she had hundreds of them in her new home; all lined up in the closet. Later one, the girls got to know that Wanda had actually drawn them. Wanda showed her capacity not by words but by her works. Her work was appreciated by everyone. By this way, we should deal with bullies in educational institutions.
4. How does the story reflect hardship and penury of the emigrants?
Ans. The story “The Hundred Dresses” by Eleanor Estes reflects hardship and penury of the emigrants. Wanda Petronski was a poor girl who was bullied all the time in the school due to her name. Everyone regarded it to be funny as it was different from the others. She faced lots of troubles. She was the prime target of the girls. She used to wear the same faded blue dress every day. She was asked the same questions every day about the number of dresses she had. In reply, she used to tell that she had hundreds of them. The girls made fun of her. But she didn’t show any emotions. She kept quiet and made hundreds of designs of dresses of different colours and proved herself by winning the drawing contest. Perhaps she was so hurt that she was bound to leave the school and the city.
5. “Do not judge a book by its cover.”- How far does this statement go right about the character of Wanda Petronski?
Ans. This line is well justified by the character of Wanda Petronksi in the story “The Hundred Dresses” by Eleanor Estes. Wanda Petrosnki was a girl from a poor family who gets teased everyday in the school for her dresses. She used to wear the same dress faded blue dress in the school. She was asked about the number of dresses she had. She used to tell that she had hundreds of them, all lined up. When she was asked about the number of dresses, she would reply that she had sixty pairs of them. A drawing contest was being conducted in the school. There Wanda had drawn hundreds of designs of dresses, each one of which was of different colours and designs. The teachers announced that each of them had the capacity of winning the contest. Everyone in the classroom appreciated her efforts. On the Christmas day, a letter arrived to Miss Mason from Wanda asking her to give Maddie and Peggy the dresses as she had hundreds of them in her new home; all lined up in the closet. Later one, the girls got to know that Wanda had actually drawn them and it was an exact one.