Class 10 NCERT Solutions English Chapter 5 - The Hundred Dresses - I

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, the most roars of laughter when anything funny was said, and plenty of mud and dirt on the floor. However the reason Wanda sat there was not because she was rough and noisy. It may have been because she came all the way from Boggin Heights and her feet were usually caked with dry mud.

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

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 with her, but she did not turn up.

In this context, 'to have fun with her' means that Peggy and Maddie would  have made fun of Wanda and teased her for their own pleasure- It means they would have had fun at Wanda’s expense.

Wanda was different from other children. 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 other children, she did not talk to anybody. She had a name and surname ‘Wanda Petronski that was different when compared to the other easy names of the children in her class.

No, she did not have a hundred dresses because she was poor and wore the same faded dress to school everyday. Probably,  it was a child's fantasy to  possess a hundred dresses-a child who had only one dress to wear for  school yet dreaming of being  like the other children with a wardrobe full of clothes.

Since she had no friends she might also have said she had hundred dresses just to make conversation, to get the other girls attention without realising that the girls would use this remark  to make fun of her.

Maddie was embarrassed by the questions Peggy asked Wanda because she  was poor herself. She usually wore old clothes, which were handed down by  someone else. The only difference was that she didn’t live up on Boggins Heights and she didn’t have a funny name like Wanda. She did not feel sorry for Wanda. She was worried that perhaps later, everyone would start teasing and pick on her too.

She was not as poor as Wanda but she was poor. She had more sense than to claim that she had a hundred dresses. . She hoped Peggy would stop teasing Wanda.

The ‘dresses game’ in which Wanda was asked everyday how many dresses, hats, shoes etc she had was bothering Maddie. Maddie was poor herself. She tried to tell Peggy to stop teasing Wanda by writing a note to her. She knew she would never have the courage to speak to Peggy about this matter. As she was writing the note, she pictured herself in the school yard as a new target for Peggy and the girls. She thought Peggy might ask her where she got the dress she had on and she would have to say that it was one of Peggy's old ones. This was what she was afraid of. Consequently, she ended up tearing the note.

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

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. The judges said that any one of the drawings was worthy of winning the prize.

Wanda Petronski was different from other girls. Her name was different and not easy to pronounce like the names of the other children in her class. 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. It was clean but not ironed properly. Unlike the 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  she  had.  Wanda  would  reply  that  she  had  a  hundred  and  they  would continue teasing her. Then, they would let her go. Before she could go very far, they would burst into laughter. They kept asking her how many hats she had, or shoes, etc. All of them mocked her and made fun of her.

Wanda did not show any feelings regarding the dresses game. It is most 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.

During the ‘dresses  game’ she answered all the questions confidently as if it was the truth and in between the answers she would draw her lips together in silence . Once all the questions were over she 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.
Probably, it was a child's fantasy to possess a hundred dresses-a child who had only one dress to wear for school yet dreaming of being like the other children with a wardrobe full of clothes.

Since she had no friends and felt left out she also might have said she had hundred dresses to make conversation and  to get the other girls attention without realising that the girls would use this remark to make fun of her.

Maddie always stood by and never did anything as she was afraid that if she did, she would be the next target of the children. 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, and Peggy was the best-liked girl in the  whole room.

(iii) Peggy could not possibly do anything that was really wrong, she thought.

(iv) Oh, Maddie was sure Peggy would win.

(v) Maddie was her closest friend.

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 of the girls’medal.. As Wanda was absent that day, Miss Mason hoped that she would be back the next day. 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.

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 when you see the moon in the sky.
4. Find a word which 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.

1.
(i) In the given sentence, the italicised words express the point of view of Peggy and Maddie.
(ii) In the given sentence, the italicised words express the point of view of  the narrator.

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.