The One Hundred and One Dalmatians Quiz

The Dearlys are the two main human characters in the book. As Dodie Smith skillfully and humorously points out, much like many pet owners, the Dearlys were under the mistaken impression that their dogs belonged to them. Written with a dog's point of view, we read of how the dogs devotedly loved, cared for and protected their human "pets". When the Dearlys married their households were combined--nannies (housekeepers), dogs and all!

The picture clue is a happy Bride and Groom.

Pongo and Missis enjoyed a "double" engagement, wedding and honeymoon with their pets, the Dearlys. They were Dalmatians described as having "Show Dog" qualities: good heads and shoulders, strong legs and straight tails, jet black spots and black noses and eye rims. Smith cleverly wrote that Pongo was a very intelligent dog, who devoured Shakespeare --his particular favorite--a leatherbound copy, of course! When the Splendid Vet gave the Dearlys the news that Pongo and Missis were going to be parents everyone was thrilled but when fifteen were born poor Missis struggled to care for all the pups.

The picture clue shows two beautiful Dalmatians--just the way Dodie Smith described them.

When the Dearlys' (and "the Pongos'") lovely evening walk was abruptly interrupted by Cruella de Vil, she insisted that they come for dinner the following Saturday. Unable to think of a good excuse, the poor Dearlys accepted the invitation. Cruella served purple soup, green fish, blue meat and black ice cream, all with a very peppery taste. Cruella insisted that her husband Mr. de Vil (he took Cruella's last name when they married) keep a roaring fire blazing in the already uncomfortably warm, red marble living room. Mr. de Vil was a furrier and Cruella had her choice of his many furs to wear. Even with the warmth from the fire, she wore a white fur coat.

Through Smith's description of the the atmosphere in the de Vil home we are given a hint that something bad was going to happen! This writing technique is called foreshadowing.

The photo of the animal furs shows Cruella's favorite choice for coats.

One night during a dinner party (the Dearlys felt obligated to return the de Vils' dinner invitation) Missis began acting strangely --sniffing around corners and cupboards. Mrs. Dearly rang up the Splendid Vet who told her not to worry. Missis was looking for a safe place to have her puppies. When he arrived later (after saving the life of a dog that had been run over) the Splendid Vet realized that Missis could get weak and thin trying to care for all 15 puppies.

He explained that the stronger puppies would end up getting more milk than than the weaker little ones. The Splendid Vet thought a poor dog who may have lost her puppies would still be able to help with the feeding and be a "foster mother". He felt he might be able to locate such a dog, but just in case, the Dearlys should call all the "Lost Dog's Homes" and in the meantime they could use a doll's bottle to help.

The puppy in the photo looks as though he's recently been to see The Splendid Vet!

The puppies began arriving as Cruella rudely interrupted and suggested that the "mongrel" puppies be drowned (because they were all white). Mr. Dearly sharply said the spots came later on and that they would never consider drowning any puppies under any circumstances. When she asked how soon the puppies could leave Missis, Smith again hints at what may come as the storyline develops. (More clever foreshadowing from Dodie Smith!)

Smith described the largest puppy with a black ring around one eye and ear. "Patch", stayed very close to the tiny delicate "Cadpig", just like a big brother should. We also met the mischievous, chubby "Roly Poly". "Lucky" the most striking puppy with the distinctive, perfect horseshoe pattern of spots, was full of energy and made it quite clear that he would be the puppy in charge! During one of Cruella's unannounced visits she picked him up and he responded by nipping her ear (good for him). After which he gulped down water because her ear tasted of --you guessed it--pepper!

The photo shows a horse being fitted for his shoes. A horseshoe hung with the ends pointed up is thought by some to bring good luck and store it--if it points downward the luck will fall out.

At this point in the story, Dodie Smith introduces us to another character's backstory; this is known as a "subplot". The subplot usually connects to the main story and often tells us more about a character or characters. It's like a story within a story!

When the Splendid Vet failed to locate a foster mother, Mrs. Dearly found a lost dog on a rainy, dark night. The Splendid Vet thought that she was so thin because she had recently had puppies herself! After feeding, bathing and drying her, to their surprise she was a beautiful Dalmatian with brown spots. A Dalmatian with brown spots instead of black is known as a Liver Dalmatian. Mrs. Dearly named her "Perdita" after a character from Shakespeare ("Perditus" is the Latin word for lost).

One night, after helping with the puppies, Perdita tells Pongo about the events of her life. Perdita's original owner, while not cruel, didn't give her the care and attention she longed for. She often went out on her own and one day she met another handsome liver spotted Dalmatian. They fell in love and married but Perdita's owner suddenly showed up and abruptly took her back home. Soon Perdita had eight puppies of her own. She got thinner and weaker trying to care for her family while getting no extra help or food from her neglectful owner. The puppies were beautiful and healthy but poor Perdita wasn't. One day she woke to find the puppies gone! Even in her weak condition she went off to search for them and that's how Mrs. Dearly found her on that rainy night.

The photo shows the three Dalmatian "parents" --Missis, Pongo and Perdita, the foster mother.

The puppies suddenly went missing, after a brief visit from Cruella, conveniently when Pongo, Missis and Perdita were out walking the Dearlys and the puppies were left with the Nannies. Even with the help of the Top Man from Scotland Yard and headlines in the Fleet Street newspapers, Pongo was not about to leave the fate of his missing puppies to humans, so he made a plan. Pongo and Missis began the "Twilight Bark" and within a short time news of the stolen puppies made its way across England. In Smith's words, the news spread from the tough London "underworld" dogs (or rather, as Smith described them, "hard-bitten and hard-biting"), to the alleys where thieving dogs lurked and to a "well-connected" Great Dane in Hampstead.

Smith guides us through Missis and Pongo's journey, detailing their travels though dark streets on their way to Suffolk. They met a burly Golden Retriever who told them of waiting accommodations in an old stable. Crossing fields and half frozen ponds they reached Essex, coming to rows of cottages and met a black Spaniel (who was a bit graying with age). The Spaniel led them into the kitchen where they drank from his 18th century dog's bowl handed down from dog to dog in his pet, Sir Charles', household. They hid in the corner of the drawing room while Sir Charles had lunch. He toasted bread in the fireplace, buttered in generously and gave pieces to the Spaniel who in turn snuck into the corner and gave them to Pongo and Missis. While Sir Charles napped by the fire so did Pongo and Missis!

The picture shows an "old-fashioned" country gentleman with his very proper dog.

Their journey brought them to a village near Suffolk and to their surprise they met a Tabby cat who was waiting for them. The cat was called "Tib" by the Colonel (a Sheepdog) who considered her to be his lieutenant, but she informed Pongo and Missis that her real name was Pussy Willow and she much preferred that name. Pussy Willow led them to a great stone wall behind which was a house with broken windows and crumbling stonework called "The Folly". As Pongo and Missis soon discovered, "The Folly" was the perfect place to see the nearby "Hell Hall" without being noticed. When the cat meowed three times she was answered by three quick barks and the bolt on the gate slid open.

We are privy to a funny conversation between Tib/Pussy Willow and the Colonel, who didn't much care for a lieutenant named Pussy Willow. Colonel, the Sheepdog was able to maneuver the bolt with his teeth. When the puppies were let out into the yard to play and exercise, to Missis and Pongo's surprise they saw about a hundred Dalmatian puppies of all shapes and sizes!

The picture shows Pussy Willows, small furry flower clusters almost like a spike called "catkins". Don't you think it was very clever of Dodie Smith to name the cat Pussy Willow?

The Colonel had a long barking conversation with Lucky, who the Colonel said was "bright as a button, months ahead of his age". Cruella had hired two dimwitted henchmen, the Baddun Brothers, Saul and Jasper, who stayed at the house with the stolen puppies. The Colonel and Lucky worked on a plan. While the Badduns were preoccupied watching their favorite show, "What's My Crime", Lucky taught the puppies commands such as "Quiet!" and "Still". He also taught them line up--nine rows of 10 puppies and one row of seven puppies. The Colonel was so impressed that he promoted the previously Corporal to Sergeant Lucky! With only light from the television and volume turned up high, the Badduns were sprawled out on mattresses glued to the television paying no attention to what was going on. Saul was heavy and dark with a forehead so low you couldn't tell where his eyebrows began, while Jasper was fair, tall, thin with a sharp pointy chin. Their clothes were dirty and full of holes.

The Badduns decided killing the puppies could wait until after "What's My Crime", ignoring Cruella's orders to kill them that night because "all of England" was looking for stolen puppies. While the Badduns watched television, Pongo and Missis along with all the puppies made their was back to the Colonel's rundown old house.

The photo is meant to lead you to the Badduns brothers looking like typical "bad guys" clothed in black with masks

As Smith takes us through the Dalmatians' return journey back to Regent's Park, we read of a dangerous encounter at a gypsy camp, Dalmatians disguising themselves with soot, trudging through fields and another very close call with Cruella. Then a kindly Staffordshire Terrier allowed them to stow away in his pet's removal van and they were finally on their way back to the Dearlys!

One day, after a wonderful Christmas Eve reunion, Mr. Dearly realized they surely needed a bigger house. The Dearlys (and the Pongos) decided to look for a larger country home in Suffolk. To their surprise, they spotted a "For Sale-CHEAP" sign in front of Hell Hall! The Badduns were in jail and the De Vils went to Europe to escape their debts. (Mr. de Vil was reduced to making plastic raincoats.) Mr. Dearly thought that painting it white, restoring the blacked out windows along with other renovations, would create the perfect place for the Dearlys' "Dalmatian Dynasty"! The dogs would have the safety of the high walled enclosure with a lovely pond to enjoy.

On the Dearlys' moving day a car pulled up in front and the people noticed Pongo, Missis and Perdita. After some commotion a handsome liver spotted Dalmatian dashed out of the car and ran to Perdita! If you've been doing the math all along you've counted Pongo, Missis and Perdita plus 97 puppies, which totals 100 Dalmatians. Who's the 101st? Prince, Perdita's long lost husband! Prince's owners frequently traveled and left him in kennels so they were very happy to give him to the Dearlys, where he would have a loving and stable home.

And so, as we say: "All's well that ends well!"

The photo is mean to lead you to the classic fairy tale where a princess kisses a frog and he turns into a handsome prince.