NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English (First Flight) The Hundred Dresses - I [Old Book]

NCERT
SOLUTIONS
CLASS - 10th

aglase .co

Class : 10th
Subject : English-1
Chapter : 5
Chapter Name : The Hundred Dresses–I

Q1 Where in the classroom does Wanda sit and why?

Answer. 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 scuf ing of feet, most roars of laughter when anything funny
was said, and most mud and dirt on the oor.

Page : 65 , Block Name : Oral Comprehension Check

Q2 Where does Wanda live? What kind of a place do you think it is?

Answer. 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.

Page : 65 , Block Name : Oral Comprehension Check

Q3 When and why do Peggy and Maddie notice Wanda’s absence?

Answer. Peggie and Maddie noticed Wanda’s absence after three days, i.e., on Wednesday.
They nally noticed her absence because Wanda had got them late for school. They had waited
for her in order to have some fun, but she did not turn up.

Page : 65 , Block Name : Oral Comprehension Check

Q4 What do you think “to have fun with her” means?

Answer. 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.

Page : 65 , Block Name : Oral Comprehension Check

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

Answer. 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 t her

properly. Unlike other children, she did not talk to anybody.

Page : 67 , Block Name : Oral Comprehension Check

Q2 Did Wanda have a hundred dresses? Why do you think she said she did?

Answer. 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. The other children used to make fun of
her poverty, and would have laughed at her whatever she might have said. This could have
been the reason for her exaggerating everything.

Page : 67 , Block Name : Oral Comprehension Check

Q3 Why is Maddie embarrassed by the questions Peggy asks Wanda? Is she also like Wanda, or
is she different?

Answer. 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 the others might
mock her too.

Page : 67 , Block Name : Oral Comprehension Check

Q1 Why didn’t Maddie ask Peggie to stop teasing Wanda? What was she afraid of?

Answer. Maddie 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.

Page : 70 , Block Name : Oral Comprehension Check

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

Answer. 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 lm star’s face so well that
one could tell who it was.

Page : 70 , Block Name : Oral Comprehension Check

Q3 Who won the drawing contest? What had the winner drawn?

Answer. 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

Page : 70 , Block Name : Oral Comprehension Check

Q1 How is Wanda seen as different by the other girls? How do they treat her?

Answer. Wanda was different from other girls. 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 t her
properly. Unlike 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.

Page : 70 , Block Name : Thinking About the Text

Q2 How does Wanda feel about the dresses game? Why does she say that she has a hundred
dresses?

Answer. 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. Probably, it was a child’s fantasy to possess a hundred dresses—a child who had
only one dress to wear for school. The other children used to make fun of her poverty, and
would have laughed at her whatever she might have said. This could have been the reason for
her exaggerating everything.

Page : 70 , Block Name : Thinking About the Text

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?)

Answer. 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.

Page : 70 , Block Name : Thinking About the Text

Q4 What does Miss Mason think of Wanda’s drawings? What do the children think of them?
How do you know?

Answer. 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. 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 oor 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.

Page : 70 , Block Name : Thinking About the Text

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) 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 nd 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)

Answer. 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 nd 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.

Page : 71 , Block Name : Thinking About Language

QII The Narrative Voice
This story is in the ‘third person’ that is, the narrator is not a participant in the story. But the
narrator often seems to tell the story from the point of view of one of the characters in the
story. For example, look at the italicised words in this sentence Thank goodness, she did not
live up on Boggins Heights or have a funny name. Whose thoughts do the words
‘Thank goodness’ express? Maddie’s, who is grateful that although she is poor, she is yet not
as poor as Wanda, or as ‘different’. (So she does not get teased; she is thankful about that.)

1. Here are two other sentences from the story. 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) Wands 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.
2. Can you nd other such sentences in the story? You can do this after you read the second
part of the story as well.

Answer 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.

2. DIY

Page : 71 , Block Name : Thinking About Language

Q3 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 then once and more than one word may be
appropriate for a given blank.)
1. ____________ , he nished 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.

Answer. 1. Surprisingly he nished 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.

Page : 72 , Block Name : Thinking About Language