Jharkhand Board Class 10 English Notes | The Hundred Dresses-II Solutions Chapter 6
6. The Hundred Dresses-II ―El Bsor Ester
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Questions on Extract
Extract-1. A deep silence met the reading of this letter. Miss
Mason took off her glasses. blew on them and wiped them on her
soft white handkerchief. Then she put them on again and looked
at the class. When she spoke her voice was very low.
"I am sure that none of the boys and girls in Room Thirteen
would purposely and deliberately hurt anyone's feelings because
his name happened to be a long, unfamiliar one. I prefer to think
that what was said was said in thoughtlessness. I know that all of
you feel the way I do, that this is a very unfortunate thing to have
happened―unfortunate and sad, both. And I want you all to think
about it." [JAC 2012(A); 2013(A)]
Q (a) How did Miss Mason behave after reading the letter.?
(b) What did Miss Mason feel about the hurting of anyone's
feelings?
(c) What did she call that happening which occurred in
thoughtlessness'?
(d) What advice did she give to the class?
(e) Find a word from the passage which means 'removed'.
Ans.(a) Miss Mason took off her glasses, blew on them and wiped
them on her soft white handkerchief.
(b) She felt that whatever was said was said in
thoughtlessness.
(c) She called it as 'unfortuante and sad".
(d) She advised the class to think about the incident.
(e) took off.
Extract-2. The first period was a study period. Maddie tried
to prepare her lessons, but she could not put her mind on her
work.She had a very sick feeling in the bottom of her stomach.
True, she had not enjoyed listening to Peggy ask Wanda how
many dresses she had in her closet, but she had said nothing. She
had stood by silently, and that was just as bad as what Peggy had
done. Worse. She was a coward. At least Peggy hadn't considered
they were being mean but she, Maddie, had thought they were
doing wrong. She could put herself in Wanda's shoes.
Goodness! Wasn't there anything she could do? If only she
could tell Wanda she hadn't meant to hurt her feelings. She turned
around and stole a glance at Peggy, but Peggy did not look up.
She seemed to be studying hard. Well, whether Peggy felt badly or
not, she, Maddie, had to do something. She had to find Wanda
Petronski. May be she had not yet moved away.
Q. (a) Why could Maddie not put her mind on her work?
(b) How would she behave when Peggy made fun of
Wanda?
(c) What did Maddie think about Peggy's making fun of
Wanda?
(d) What did Maddie think to do to bring things to normal
levels?
(e) Find a phrase from the passage which means 'look'.
Ans.(a) Maddie could not put her mind on her work because she
felt bad that Peggy had been mocking at Wanda.
(b) She would stand silently and that was bad.
(c) Maddie thought that it was all wrong.
(d) She thought to find Wanda out and regret before her at
what had happened.
(e) 'stole a glance.
Long Type Questions and Answer
Q1. What was the effect of the letter of Wanda's father on
Miss Mason? How did Maddie react to it?
Ans. There was a deep silence in the class. Miss Mason took
off her glasses and wiped them. Then she looked at the class. She
said that what had happened, happened in thoughtlessness. It was
very unfortunate and sad. She asked all to think about that.
Maddie was greatly affected. She had a sick feeling in the
bottom of her stomach. She regretted at what had happened. She
wondered if she could do anything to repair. She wanted to tell
Wanda that she never meant to hurt her feelings. She looked at
Peggy. But Peggy did not look at her. She decided to meet Peggy
and tell Wanda that she never meant to hurt her in any way. Peggy
asked Maddie to go to Wanda's house. Perhaps they had not moved
away till then.
Q.2. What did Peggy and Maddie speak about when they
went to Wanda's house?
Ans. Peggy and Maddie went to Wanda's house. They spoke
only of Wanda and how they never meant to hurt her feelings.
Peggy said that she never called her a foreigner or made fun of her
name. She never knew that Wanda had the sense to know that she
was being mocked at. Maddie said nothing. But she hoped to find
Wanda. She wanted to tell her that they were sorry. They would
plead before Wanda not to move away from there. All would be
nice to her. She and Peggy would fight anybody who was not nice
towards her. They reached her house. But no one was there. The
Petronskis had gone. They wondered how they would make things
in order.
Q.3.What did Maddie think of Wanda after she and Peggy
had written a letter to Wanda and no reply came? What did she
decided to do to make things better?
Ans. Maddie and Peggy wrote a letter to Wanda. But no
reply came. Peggy had begun to forget the whole business. But
Maddie still thought of it. She tried to sleep at night thinking of
Wanda. She thought of her blue faded dress. She also thought of
the glowing picture those hundred dresses had made. But also
could not sleep. She pressed her forehead tight in her hands and
really thoughts. She did a hard thinking. She reached a conclusion.
It was: she would never stand by and would say something. She
would speak up if anybody mocked at the other even if that meant
losing Peggy's friendship. She would never make anybody else
that unhappy again.On Saturday Maddie and Peggy wrote a friendly
letter to Wanda. They told Wanda everything in that and regretted
Over everything.
Q.4. What did Maddie and Peggy write in the letter to
Wanda? What happened to it? How didMaddie benave even
though Peggy had begun to forget the whole business?
Ans. Maddie and peggy wrote everything about the whole
business. It was a friendly letter. They wrote about the contest that
Wanda had won. They told her how pretty her drawings Were.
They asked her if she liked where she was living and if she liked
her new teacher. They had meant to say they were sorry. They
Signed it with lot of X's for love. But no reply came. Peggy had
begun to torget the whole business. But Maddie put herself to
Sleep at night making Speeches about Wanda. She thought of how
she would defend her from great crowds of girls who were teasing
her. She would cry out 'stop' before the girls teased Wanda. Then
everybody would feel ashamed the way she used to feel.
Q.5. when did Wanda write a letter to Miss Mason? What
did she write about ? Do you think she forgave Maddie and peggy
for what they had done to her ? How do you know?
Ans. Wanda wrote a letter to Miss Mason before Christmas.
Her letter was received just before Christmas. On the last day of
school before the holidays, Miss Mason read her letter. In that
letter she wrote that the girls could keep those hundred dresses.
She had a hundred new ones in her closet. She wanted Peggy to
have the drawing of the green dress with the red trimming and
Maddie to have the blue one. She also wrote that she missed that
school and her old teachers. She wished Merry Christmas to all.
Q.6. How did Maddie and Peggy find Wanda's drawings
which she had given to them? What were their reactions?
Ans. Both Middie and Peggy heard the letter read by Miss
Mason. They concluded that Wanda had received the letter and
everything was all right. Maddie pinned her drawing in the
bedroom. The dirty bedroOm came alive due to the colours of the
drawing. She looked at the drawing and said nothing.But she felt
that Wanda had becen nice to her. She gazed at the drawing for a
long time. She studied it. The colours were so clear that she hardly
saw the tace and head of the drawing. The drawing looked like her
own mouth, her own self, Wanda had really drawn for her. She ran
to Peggy's house to tell all this. Peggy also saw that Wanda had
drawn her face in that picture. Peggy told that that meant Wanda
had execused them.
Q.7.How is bread an important part of Goa life? How do
you know this?
Or, Is bread-making still popular in Goa?
Ans. Bread is an important part of Goan life. Marriage gifts
are meaningless without the sweet bread known as bolo. A party
or a feast loses its charm Without bread. The lady of the house
must prepare sandwiches on the Occasion of her daughter's
engagement. Cakes and bolinhas are a must for all festivals
including Christmas. The Portuguese have left. But the makers of
those famous loaves are still there. The mixers, the moulders, the
furnaces and the bakers are still there.
Q.8. How would the baker come everyday? Why did the
children run to meet him?
Or, How did the baker make his presence in the morning?
What did the baker wear in the days when the author was a
child ?
ans. The baker came with the Jhang-jhang sound of his
bambco stick. He carried his basket on his head, supporting it
with one hand. With the other hand, he would bang the bamboo
on the ground. InuUs everyone would come to know of lhis arrival.
He would greet with Good morning and place the basket on the
vertical bamboo.
The baker then wore a shirt and trousers. These trousers were
shorter than the full-length trousers. But they were, longer than
half pants. They reached just below the knees. Even today it is
known as the dress of a 'pader'.
All children including the author eagerly awaited the arrival
of baker to their house. When the baker came with loaves of bread
in his basket the children had to be pushed a way to take delivery.
They would climb a bench or the parapet to peep into the basket
They loved bread bangles. When they got their share, they did
not even care to brush their teeth or wash their mouths properly.
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