When the children were watching the designs made by Wanda, Miss Mason received a letter from the Principal’s Office. She became worried after reading it. It was a letter from Jan Petronski, Wanda’s father. It said:
Dear Teacher,
My Wanda will not come to your school any more. Jake also. Now we move away to big city. No more holler ‘Pollack’. No more ask why funny name. Plenty of funny names in the big city.
Yours truly,
Jan Petronski
Thus the teacher came to know that Wanda’s father had left the town as the students used to make fun of Wanda. Then Maddie and Peggy realised their mistake. They went to Wanda’s house to stop them from leaving the town. But when they reached there, they found nobody. They had already left for the city. Now there was nothing left that they could do. That night Maddie could not sleep. She went on thinking about the faded blue dress of Wanda and her little house. Then she decided that she would no longer stand with Peggy in her teasing the poor. She would not mind if it meant her even losing Peggy’s friendship. On Saturday, both Maddie and Peggy wrote a letter to Wanda and posted it. They told her that she had won the competition and they were feeling sorry at her departure from the town. But they did not receive any reply from Wanda for a long time. Then suddenly, before Christmas, Miss Mason came to the class with a letter from Wanda. It said:
Dear Miss Mason,
How are you and Room Thirteen? Please tell the girls they can keep those hundred dresses, because in my new house I have a hundred new ones, all lined up in my closet. I’d like that girl Peggy to have the drawing of the green dress with the red trimming, and her friend Maddie to have the blue one. For Christmas, I miss that school and my new teacher does not equalise with you. Merry Christmas to you and everybody.
Yours truly,
Wanda Petronski
When they came back from the school with their paintings in hand, Maddie found that Wanda had painted her face and head in the design. She went to tell this fact to Peggy. When she also found her own picture in the design, Maddie said that Wanda really loved them. Thus both the girls realised that Wanda still loved them a lot.