The Hundred Dresses-I
Summary of the Chapter
The Hundred Dresses is a story based on the true experiences of the author
about a girl who is teased by her classmates because she is different. Wanda
Petronski, a girl who comes from the poor part of town, is the only student in
her class with a 'funny' Polish name. She is always quiet and she always wears
the same faded blue dress to school everyday, although she claims she has a
hundred dresses and sixty shoes at home "all lined up in her closet."
The story is told from the perspective of one of Wanda's classmates, Maddie,
who is the best friend of the main player in the daily taunting and teasing.
After Wanda is absent for a few days, her classmates learn that her family has
moved away to the big city where they will not be mistreated for being
different. Maddie begins to wonder about the girl she and her friends used to
constantly tease, and realizes that she knows very little about her. She begins
to wonder why they started teasing her in the first place and is overcome with
guilt for making fun of her simply because she is poor and has a funny name
and is different from them. Maddie knows that she should have stood up to
her friends and defended Wanda. She feels guilty for not speaking up, for
standing by and allowing her friends to tease Wanda.
Maddie and her friends later discover that Wanda is a very talented artist, and
that her drawing of one hundred beautiful dresses has won the school's art
contest. The girls realize that they misjudged Wanda, and feel incredibly guilty
for never believing her stories of her "one hundred dresses." In the end, the
girls write a letter to Wanda, hoping to make amends, and they are pleasantly
surprised by her willingness to forgive.
Quick Revision Notes
• It was Monday. Wanda was not in her seat but nobody noticed this.
• Wanda is a quiet girl who rarely said something but no one knows why. She
lived at Boggins Heights. Her feet had mud on then.
• Student thought of Wanda outside the school hours, to have fun with her but
she did not come on Tuesday also.
• On Wednesday, Peggy and Maddie thought of Wanda. Both of them were
very good friends. They anted to have fun with Wanda but they noticed her
absence.
• Peggy was the most popular girl in her school. She was pretty, she had many
pretty clothes and her hair was curly.
• Wanda’s name was considered funny in room number 13.
• Wanda had no friends, wore a faded blue clean dress. Girls surrounded her in
the school yard to make fun.
• Peggy made fun of Wanda by mostly asking how many dresses she had and
how many pairs of shoes.
• Wanda would answered a hundred and shoes sixty. All girls laughed at her.
• Peggy was not really cruel. She would say why Wanda had spoken of her
hundred dresses.
• Maddie felt bad that they had been bothering Wanda like that because she
was also poor. She wishes Peggy to stop teasing Wanda but pictures herself in
Wanda’s place.
• Maddie remembers Wanda’s pale blue and green with red dresses.
• The drawing contest was expected to be won by Peggy.
• Next day, they saw hundred sketches of dresses all over the room. All
beautiful in bright colours.
• Miss Mason announced Jack Beggles won for the boys and Wanda for girls.
• Wanda was absent. The class was astonished to know that Wanda could
draw. The children clapped their hands and the sketches were all beautiful and
different .
• The blue and the green dress once spoken by Wanda was identified by Peggy
and Maddie. They were shocked to know her great quality of drawing.
