Complete classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories
Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories

Chapter VII

Chapter 7 of Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Joel Chandler Harris • Curated US English Learning Edition
Cover illustration for Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories
Context Illustration Reading 1/82 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
“We are not saving enough money, daughter; we must save more.
We must buy the old Place back.
We must save it from ruin.”
IV.
There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories

Chapter VII

Chapter 7 of Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/82 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
“We are not saving enough money, daughter; we must save more.
/wiː ɑːr nɑːt ˈseɪvɪŋ ɪˈnʌf ˈmʌni ˈdɔːtər wiː mʌst seɪv mɔːr/
Line 2
We must buy the old Place back.
/wiː mʌst baɪ ðə oʊld pleɪs bæk/
Line 3
We must save it from ruin.”
/wiː mʌst seɪv ɪt frʌm ˈruːən/
Line 4
IV.
Line 5
There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

Learner Dictionary

These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.

Bass noun US /bæs/

the lowest part of the musical range

From this reading “There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
bought verb US /bɑːt/

inflected form of “buy” — obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction

From this reading “There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
individual adjective US /ˌɪndəˈvɪdʒəwəl/

being or characteristic of a single thing or person

From this reading “There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Jimmy verb US /ˈdʒɪmi/

to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open

From this reading “There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Major adjective US /ˈmeɪdʒər/

of greater importance or stature or rank

From this reading “There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
negro noun US /ˈniːɡroʊ/

a person with African ancestry, "Negro" and "Negroid" are archaic and pejorative today

From this reading “There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
ruin noun US /ˈruːən/

an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction

From this reading “We must save it from ruin.””

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
saving noun US /ˈseɪvɪŋ/

an act of economizing; reduction in cost

From this reading ““We are not saving enough money, daughter; we must save more.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Word partnerships in these lines

English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.

Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.

some years adjective + noun

In this reading “There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.”

11,043 times in 426,211 chapters
enough money noun + noun

In this reading ““We are not saving enough money, daughter; we must save more.”

2,187 times in 426,211 chapters
before the war preposition + article + noun counted as “before … war”

In this reading “There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.”

1,792 times in 426,211 chapters
old Place adjective + noun

In this reading “We must buy the old Place back.”

5,274 times in 426,211 chapters

All words in this reading · 55

Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.

Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
areauxiliary verbUS /ɑːr/

the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading “We are not saving enough money, daughter; we must save more.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
backadverbUS /bæk/

in or to or toward a former location

From this reading We must buy the old Place back.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Bascom

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

Pending verification
BassnounUS /bæs/

the lowest part of the musical range

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
beforeprepositionUS /bɪˈfɔːr/

earlier than; in front of

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
boughtverbUS /bɑːt/

inflected form of “buy” — obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
buyverbUS /baɪ/

obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction

From this reading We must buy the old Place back.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
coldadjectiveUS /koʊld/

having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
cousinnounUS /ˈkʌzən/

the child of your aunt or uncle

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
daughternounUS /ˈdɔːtər/

a female human offspring

From this reading “We are not saving enough money, daughter; we must save more.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
enoughnounUS /ɪˈnʌf/

an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose

From this reading “We are not saving enough money, daughter; we must save more.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

From this reading We must save it from ruin.”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
giveverbUS /ɡɪv/

cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
Hillsborough

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

Pending verification
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
individualadjectiveUS /ˌɪndəˈvɪdʒəwəl/

being or characteristic of a single thing or person

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading We must save it from ruin.”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
IVnoun

the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one

From this reading IV.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Jesse

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

Pending verification
JimmyverbUS /ˈdʒɪmi/

to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
JudgeverbUS /dʒʌdʒ/

determine the result of (a competition)

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
MajoradjectiveUS /ˈmeɪdʒər/

of greater importance or stature or rank

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Merriwether

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

Pending verification
moneynounUS /ˈmʌni/

the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender

From this reading “We are not saving enough money, daughter; we must save more.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
moreadjectiveUS /mɔːr/

(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree

From this reading “We are not saving enough money, daughter; we must save more.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading “We are not saving enough money, daughter; we must save more.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
negronounUS /ˈniːɡroʊ/

a person with African ancestry, "Negro" and "Negroid" are archaic and pejorative today

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading “We are not saving enough money, daughter; we must save more.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
oldadjectiveUS /oʊld/

(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age

From this reading We must buy the old Place back.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
PlacenounUS /pleɪs/

a point located with respect to surface features of some region

From this reading We must buy the old Place back.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
returnverbUS /rɪˈtɜːrn/

go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
ruinnounUS /ˈruːən/

an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction

From this reading We must save it from ruin.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
saveprepositionUS /seɪv/

except for; apart from

From this reading “We are not saving enough money, daughter; we must save more.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
savingnounUS /ˈseɪvɪŋ/

an act of economizing; reduction in cost

From this reading “We are not saving enough money, daughter; we must save more.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
shoulderverbUS /ˈʃoʊldər/

lift onto one's shoulders

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
someadjectiveUS /sʌm/

(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading We must buy the old Place back.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
ThereadverbUS /ðer/

in or at that place or location

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
warnounUS /wɔːr/

the waging of armed conflict against an enemy

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
WepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading “We are not saving enough money, daughter; we must save more.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
yearsnounUS /jɪrz/

a late time of life

From this reading There was one individual in Hillsborough who did not give the cold shoulder to Judge Bascom on his return, and that was the negro Jesse, who had been bought by Major Jimmy Bass some years before the war from Merriwether Bascom, a cousin of the Judge.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Chapter 7 of Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories by Joel Chandler Harris holds 412 sentences, grouped into 83 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.

What does chapter 7 of Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories contain?

Chapter 7 holds 412 sentences of Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 7 of Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories by Joel Chandler Harris exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 412 sentences, grouped into 83 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.

How do I study chapter 7 of Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories?

Work through the 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 83 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.

Can chapter 7 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 7 can be played aloud in United States English.

Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.

Questions about reading Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories

Common questions about reading Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories by Joel Chandler Harris on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories?

Yes. All 3270 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56883 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #56883, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories take to read?

About 272 minutes of reading across 654 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories section by section

How to work through Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 8 chapters of Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories

Words and structures a reader meets early in Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Chandler
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Harris
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Nights
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Uncle
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Balaam and His Master, and Other Sketches and Stories; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.