NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English - The Hundred Dresses - I

The Hundred Dresses

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 65)

Q1. Where in the classroom does Wanda sit and why?
Ans: Wanda used to sit in the seat next to the last seat in the last row, in Room Thirteen. She sat there because her feet were normally caked with dry mud and very dirty. So in order to avoid being laughed at by her classmates, she sat there to hide her dirty feet.

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

Q3. When and why do Peggy and Maddie notice Wanda’s absence?
Ans: Peggie and Maddie noticed Wanda’s absence after three days, i.e., on Wednesday because they wanted to be with her for a lot of fun. They waited for her for a long time but she didn't turn up.

Q4. What do you think “to have fun with her” means?
Ans: Wanda was a quiet and shy girl who was ashamed of dust-laden feet. The girls used to make fun of her. This gave them a lot of pleasure therefore, they wanted to have fun with her.

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 67)

Q1. In what way was Wanda different from the other children?
Ans: 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.

Q2. Did Wanda have a hundred dresses? Why do you think she said she did?
Ans: No, she did not have a hundred dresses because she was poor and wore the same faded dress to school every day. She had an inferiority complex. In order to hide the complex and impress the other girls, she always said that she had a hundred dresses.

Q3. Why is Maddie embarrassed by the questions Peggy asks Wanda? Is she also like Wanda, or is she different?
Ans: 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. She did not feel sorry for Wanda. She was worried that perhaps later, everyone would start teasing her too. She thought she was different from Wanda in the sense that she would never claim that she had a hundred dresses. She was not as poor as Wanda. Yet she was afraid that others might mock her too.

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 70)

Q1. Why didn’t Maddie ask Peggie to stop teasing Wanda? What was she afraid of?
Ans: Maddie couldn't ask Peggie to stop teasing Wanda because Peggie was her best friend and she had faith in Peggie that she would never do anything wrong. She was afraid of being laughed at for her poor dresses.

Q2. Who did Maddie think would win the drawing contest? Why?
Ans: 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.

Q3. Who won the drawing contest? What had the winner drawn?
Ans: Wanda won the drawing contest. The winner of the drawing contest was appreciated by the judges and applauded by her fellow classmates.

Thinking about the Text 

Q1. How is Wanda seen as different by the other girls? How do they treat her?
Ans: Wanda is seen as different from the other girls. She is a poor and lonely girl. The girls made fun of her poverty and teased her by commenting on her dress.

Q2. How does Wanda feel about the dresses game? Why does she say that she has a hundred dresses?
Ans: 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.
She was a girl who was very poor and came from a long distance which made her feet dirty. She wanted to draw the attention of her friends. So, she felt very happy whenever she told her friend that she had a hundred dresses without realising that they were making fun of her.

Q3. 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?)
Ans: 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.

Q4. What does Miss Mason think of Wanda’s drawings? What do the children think of them? How do you know?
Ans: Miss mason appreciated the paintings of Wanda. She was impressed at the creativity of the girl because she had painted a hundred paintings which were in a wide range of variety.
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 the Language (Page 71)

QI. 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) 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)
Ans:
1. This is the bus which goes to Agra.
2. I would like to buy a 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.

QII. 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.

Ans: 
(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.

Page No: 72

QIII. Look at this sentence. The italicised adverb expresses an opinion or point of view. 
Obviously, the only dress Wanda had was the blue one she wore every day. (This was obvious to the speaker.)
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.
Ans: 
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.