The Hundred Dresses Part 2 NCERT Solutions Class 10 PDF Download 2026

Ans: Mr. Petronski's letter informed the teacher that Wanda and her brother Jake would not be coming to school anymore. He stated that the family was moving to a big city where there would be no more "holler Polack" (insulting racial slurs) and no one would ask why they had funny names, as there are plenty of funny names in the big city.

Ans: Miss Mason is not angry; rather, she is deeply unhappy, upset, and disappointed. She adjusts her glasses and speaks in a low voice, telling the class that she hopes no one purposefully and deliberately hurt Wanda's feelings just because she had a long, unfamiliar name. She wants the students to reflect on their behavior.

Ans: Maddie feels a terrible "sick feeling" in the bottom of her stomach. She loses her concentration and cannot study. She feels like a coward because she stood by silently while Peggy teased Wanda. She realizes that her silent complicity was just as bad, if not worse, than Peggy's active teasing.

Ans: Peggy tries to rationalize her behavior by saying she never called Wanda a "foreigner" or made fun of her name directly. She also convinces herself that her constant questioning about the dresses actually gave Wanda the ideas for her beautiful drawings, without which Wanda might not have won the contest. She does this to protect herself from the heavy guilt of driving Wanda away.

Ans: As they walk to Boggins Heights, Maddie desperately hopes they will find Wanda before she moves away. She wants to apologize to her, tell her that the whole school thought she was wonderful, and assure her that she and Peggy would fight anyone who was not nice to her.

Ans: When they finally reach Boggins Heights, Wanda's house looks sparse and old, but it is extremely clean. This instantly reminds Maddie of Wanda's faded blue cotton dress, which was also old and shabby, but always impeccably clean.

Ans: They found a little white house that looked shabby but clean. However, there was no sign of life. They knocked on the door, but there was no answer. The Petronski family had already moved away.

Ans: Maddie had sleepless nights because she was haunted by overwhelming guilt. She kept thinking about Wanda, her faded blue dress, and the little house she lived in. She regretted not speaking up to stop the teasing.

Ans: Maddie made a firm resolution that she would never stand by and say nothing again. If she ever heard anyone mocking someone for being funny-looking or having a strange name, she would speak up, even if it meant losing Peggy's friendship.

Ans: They wrote a friendly letter to Wanda, telling her she had won the contest. They mailed it to Boggins Heights, writing "Please Forward" on the envelope, hoping the post office would send it to her new address.

Ans: Wanda's reply arrived just before the Christmas holidays. Miss Mason received the letter addressed to Room Thirteen and read it to the class before dismissing them for the holidays.

Ans: Wanda wished the class a Merry Christmas. She told Miss Mason that the girls could keep those hundred dresses because in her new house, she had a hundred new ones. She specifically asked to gift the green dress drawing to Peggy and the blue one to Maddie.

Ans: Peggy teased Wanda because she thought Wanda was lying about having a hundred dresses; she didn't think she was being cruel. Maddie, however, knew the pain of poverty and knew the teasing was wrong. By standing silently and letting it happen out of fear of losing her popularity and becoming the next target, Maddie enabled the bullying. Being a silent spectator to injustice makes a person an accomplice. Therefore, her cowardice and silent complicity were morally as bad as Peggy's active teasing.

Ans: At the beginning of the story, Maddie is a passive follower, too scared to stand up to her best friend Peggy. However, Mr. Petronski's letter acts as a harsh wake-up call. She is consumed by a "sick feeling" of guilt and realizes the devastating impact of her silence. When she fails to find Wanda at Boggins Heights to apologize, she hits rock bottom. This guilt transforms her. She finds her moral courage and vows never to be a silent bystander again, transitioning from a coward into a brave, empathetic girl.

Ans: Mr. Jan Petronski’s brief letter reveals him to be a deeply hurt but dignified and protective father. He does not use angry or abusive language against the school. Instead, he clearly and calmly points out the toxic environment of casual racism and bullying ("holler Polack") that his children faced. His decision to move to a big city shows his priority is the mental well-being and dignity of his family. He represents the silent suffering of immigrants who are forced to uproot their lives just to escape discrimination.

Ans: When Maddie pinned Wanda's drawing of the blue dress in her bedroom, she noticed something extraordinary. The head and face of the figure in the drawing looked exactly like her! She ran to Peggy's house and saw that the girl in the green dress resembled Peggy. This discovery was profound. It meant that even while the girls were mocking Wanda, Wanda was quietly drawing them with affection. Wanda’s act of gifting these specific portraits was her silent way of forgiving them. This beautiful gesture lifted their guilt and brought a sense of emotional closure and redemption.

Ans: The story highlights how prejudice (judging someone for their name, clothes, or origin) causes deep psychological harm, forcing a family to leave their home. However, its greatest lesson is in forgiveness. Wanda, the victim of this prejudice, does not harbor hate. She responds to their mockery with creativity and responds to their late apology with love (the customized drawings). She teaches that forgiveness is superior to revenge, elevating her character above her bullies.

Ans: Miss Mason, the class teacher, says this after reading Mr. Petronski's letter. She is deeply hurt and disappointed by the class's behavior. She says this to appeal to the students' better nature, hoping to make them realize the gravity of their actions and feel remorse for indirectly forcing a student out of school.

Ans: Maddie cried because she realized that Wanda had drawn her face on the beautiful blue dress. It made her realize how pure and good-hearted Wanda was, liking them enough to draw them, while Maddie and Peggy had only ever given her pain.

Ans: Around Christmas, the grocery store window was beautifully decorated with candy peppermint sticks, cornucopias of shiny transparent paper, and a Christmas tree, reflecting the festive and somewhat hopeful mood of the season.

Ans: Peggy interpreted Wanda's letter and the gifted drawings as a clear sign that everything was alright. She believed it showed that Wanda actually liked them and had no hard feelings about the "hundred dresses" game.