Chapter 6: The Hundred Dresses-II

Oral Comprehension Check

Page 74

Question: 1

What did Mr Petronski’s letter say?

Answer:

Mr Petronski’s letter was to inform the principal and Miss Mason that Wanda would not come to school as she was fed up of being bullied in the school. They were going to shift to a bigger place where nobody would make fun of their last name.

Question: 2

Is Miss Mason angry with the class, or is she unhappy and upset?

Answer:

Miss Mason seems to be unhappy and upset rather than angry because she had never expected such a behaviour from the students. She wants everyone to think about it and asks them not to do look down anyone in the class.

Question: 3

How does Maddie feel after listening to the note from Wanda’s father?

Answer:

Maddie feels sorry and ashamed for the behaviour although she herself did not make fun of Wanda. She never tried to stop Peggy to do so and remained a silent spectator. She feels as a coward.

Question: 4

What does Maddie want to do?

Answer:

Maddie wants to amend her behaviour towards Wanda. She wants to meet her to apologise. She decides to find Wanda at her house at Boggins Heights. She also wanted to convey that all was meant in good humour and people really love her.

Page 76

Question: 1

What excuses does Peggy think of giving in justification of her behaviour? Why?

Answer:

Peggy tries to defend herself by saying that her
behaviour towards Wanda inspired her to explore her drawing skills as she sketches a hundred dresses and that makes her win the drawing contest.

Question: 2

What are Maddie’s thoughts as they go to Boggins Heights?

Answer:

Maddie was feeling ashamed and apologetic for being a silent spectator while Peggy humiliated Wanda. She was feeling upset and distraught for Wanda and herself. She was also repenting for not stopping Peggy for behaving badly with Wanda.

Question: 3

Why does Wanda’s house remind Maddie of Wanda’s blue dress?

Answer:

Wanda’s house was sparse, old and laded but neat and clean like her blue dress that she wore everyday to school. Thus, Maddie was reminded of the same old blue dress.

Question: 4

What does Maddie think hard about ? What important decision does she come to?

Answer:

Maddie thinks about not to be mute spectator anymore that she had been in case of Wanda. She promised herself about not letting any injustice happen to anyone even if she would have to lose a friend in this.

Page 79

Question: 1

What did the girls write in the letter?

Answer:

Maddie and Peggy wrote a friendly letter to Wanda. They wanted to apologise for their behaviour but they ended up asking her whether she liked her new school and teacher. They informed her about her sketches winning the drawing competition. They praised her drawing skills and also told how much other students liked her art. The letter was just a usual letter one may write to a good friend.

Question: 2

Did Maddie and Peggy get a reply? Who was more anxious for a reply? How do you know?

Answer:

No, they didn’t get a reply from Wanda. Maddie was more anxious for a reply than Peggy because she was very upset and feeling sad for Wanda. She had assumed that Wanda was deeply hurt so she was not replying and blamed herself for everything. Maddie used to have sleepless nights and saw frightful dreams about Wanda.

Question: 3

How did the girls know that Wanda liked them even though they had teased her?

Answer:

Both Maddie and Peggy realised that Wanda liked them although they had teased her because she had gifted them her two beautiful dresses, a green one with red trimmings to Peggy and the blue one to Maddie. She had even drawn their faces in the painting of the dresses they got.

Thinking about the Text

Question: 1

Why do you think Wanda’s family moved to a different city? Do you think life there was going to be different for their family?

Answer:

Wanda’s family moved to a different city due to the racist and insulting behaviour of students towards Wanda and her brother. They were teased by other students for their funny name and blue dress. Life there in a different city was going to be different because people there did not have such a narrow mind and would not tease them because of their name or status.

Question: 2

Maddie thought her silence was as bad as Peggy’s teasing. Was she right ?

Answer:

Yes, Maddie thought that her silence was as bad as Peggy’s teasing because it is often said that turning a blind eye to a crime is worse than committing a crime. So by being silent she indirectly encouraged Peggy to do so.

Question: 3

Peggy says, “I never thought she had sense to know we were making fun of her anyway. I thought she was too dumb. And gee, look how she can draw!”What led Peggy to believe that Wanda was dumb ? Did she change her opinion later ?

Answer:

Wanda never replied to Peggy ‘s misbehaviour and pranks that she faced everyday. So, her neutral face and unusual behaviour led Peggy to think that Wanda was dumb. Wanda even described the hundred dresses she said about though she wore the same old faded blue dress everyday. But later Peggy’ changed her opinion after having a look on Wanda’s sketches and her gesture of gifting her a beautiful drawing from her collection.

Question: 4

What important decision did Maddie make? Why did she have to think hard to do so ?

Answer:

Maddie decided to go to Wanda’s house with Peggy to apologise and amend for all that had happened but Wanda had left her house with her family. She felt bad because she thought of herself as a coward who did not stop Peggy to insult Wanda. So, she decided to raise voice against injustice and bullying. She was firm of not being a mute spectator anymore.

Question: 5

Why do you think Wanda gave Maddie and Peggy the drawings of the dresses ? Why are they surprised ?

Answer:

When Maddie and Peggy wrote a letter to Wanda, she might have understood their feelings behind their letter and during the dresses game, she had observed both of them. So she requested Miss Mason to give two of her drawings to them and had taught them a lesson of life. Maddie and Peggy were surprised as she gifted them the drawings with their faces.

Question: 6

Do you think Wanda really thought the girls were teasing her ? Why or why not ?

Answer:

Wanda was aware of the misbehaviour of the girls who teased her everyday “but she remained calm. To keep them mum she fabricated a story of having a hundred dresses and sixty pairs of matching shoes in her closet. She taught them a lesson of life by the drawings of the hundred beautiful dresses she claimed to have.

Thinking about the Language

I. Here are thirty adjectives describing human qualities. Discuss them with your partner and put them in the two-word webs (given below) according to whether you think they show positive or negative qualities. You can consult a dictionary if you are not sure of the meanings of some of the words. You may also add to the list the positive or negative ‘pair’ of a given word.

• Question: II

What adjectives can we use to describe Peggy, Wanda and Maddie? You can choose adjectives from the list above. You can also add some of your own.

1. Peggy ____
2. Wanda ____
3. Maddie ____

Answer:

1. Peggy Sarcastic, thoughtless, zealous, unforgiving arrogant, cruel, haughty, proud, vain
2. Wanda Kind, courteous, introverted, talented, lonely, determined, complacent, contented, generous, friendly, intrepid, sensitive, compassionate, creative.
3. Maddie Insipid, timid, placid, stolid

• Question: III

1.Find the sentences in the story with the following phrasal verbs.

lined up, thought up, took off, stood by

Answer:

Lined up - She thought of the glowing picture of those hundred dresses all lined up in the classroom.

Thought up - Peggy who had thought up this game and Maddie her inseparable friend, were always ‘the last to leave.

Took off - Miss Mason took off her glasses, blew on them and wiped them on her soft white handkerchief.

Stood by - She had stood by silently and that was just as bad as what Peggy had done.

2. Look up these phrasal verbs in a dictionary to find out if they can be used in some other way. (Look at the entries for line, think, take and stand in the dictionary.) Find out what other prepositions can go with these verbs. What does each of these phrasal verbs mean?

Line - Lined with (arranged in a line),

Think – Think about (recall), Think over (reflect upon)

Take – Take over (acquire), Take out (escort)

Stand – Stand out (easily seen), Stand back (move back)

3. Use at least five such phrasal verbs in sentences of your own.

• Question: IV

Colours are used to describe feelings, moods and emotions. Match the following ‘colour expressions’ with a suggested paraphrase.

Answer:

1. The Monday morning blues : sadness or depression after a weekend of fun
2. To go red in the face : feel embarrassed /angry/ashamed
3. Look green : feel very sick, as if about to vomit
4. The red carpet : a special welcome
5. Blue – blooded : of noble birth or from a royal family
6. A green belt : land around a town or city where construction is prohibited by law
7. Black guard : a dishonest person with no sense of right or wrong
8. A grey area : an area of a subject or a situation where matters are not very clear.
9. A white flag : a sign of surrender or acceptance of defeat; a wish to stop fighting
10. A blue print : a photographic print of building plans; a detailed clan or scheme
11. Red-handed : in an unlawful act; while doing something wrong
12. The green light : the sign of permission to begin an action