Chapter 1 of Blacksheep! Blacksheep! is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Blacksheep! Blacksheep! is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BLACKSHEEP! BLACKSHEEP! Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be. Meanwhile, "Blacksheep! Blacksheep!" we cry, Safe in the inner fold; And maybe they hear, and wonder why, And marvel, out in the cold.
Chapter 1 of Blacksheep! Blacksheep! is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
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.
plural of “brother” — a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading “Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.”
an angular or rounded shape made by folding
From this reading “Blacksheep!" we cry, Safe in the inner fold; And maybe they hear, and wonder why, And marvel, out in the cold.”
lacking in physical beauty or proportion
From this reading “Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.”
located inward
From this reading “Blacksheep!" we cry, Safe in the inner fold; And maybe they hear, and wonder why, And marvel, out in the cold.”
be amazed at
From this reading “Blacksheep!" we cry, Safe in the inner fold; And maybe they hear, and wonder why, And marvel, out in the cold.”
by chance
From this reading “Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.”
at the same time but in another place
From this reading “Meanwhile, "Blacksheep!”
a person who is rejected (from society or home)
From this reading “Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.”
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.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Blacksheep!" we cry, Safe in the inner fold; And maybe they hear, and wonder why, And marvel, out in the cold.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BLACKSHEEP!
plural of “brother” — a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.
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 Blacksheep!" we cry, Safe in the inner fold; And maybe they hear, and wonder why, And marvel, out in the cold.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading Blacksheep!" we cry, Safe in the inner fold; And maybe they hear, and wonder why, And marvel, out in the cold.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.
an angular or rounded shape made by folding
From this reading Blacksheep!" we cry, Safe in the inner fold; And maybe they hear, and wonder why, And marvel, out in the cold.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.
brought together in one place
From this reading Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading Blacksheep!" we cry, Safe in the inner fold; And maybe they hear, and wonder why, And marvel, out in the cold.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.
lacking in physical beauty or proportion
From this reading Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.
located inward
From this reading Blacksheep!" we cry, Safe in the inner fold; And maybe they hear, and wonder why, And marvel, out in the cold.
The state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions on one's way of life.
From this reading Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.
be amazed at
From this reading Blacksheep!" we cry, Safe in the inner fold; And maybe they hear, and wonder why, And marvel, out in the cold.
by chance
From this reading Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.
at the same time but in another place
From this reading Meanwhile, "Blacksheep!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Blacksheep!" we cry, Safe in the inner fold; And maybe they hear, and wonder why, And marvel, out in the cold.
a person who is rejected (from society or home)
From this reading Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.
free from danger or the risk of harm
From this reading Blacksheep!" we cry, Safe in the inner fold; And maybe they hear, and wonder why, And marvel, out in the cold.
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.
feeling a need to see others suffer
From this reading Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Blacksheep!" we cry, Safe in the inner fold; And maybe they hear, and wonder why, And marvel, out in the cold.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.
structure consisting of a sloping way down to the water from the place where ships are built or repaired
From this reading Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Blacksheep!" we cry, Safe in the inner fold; And maybe they hear, and wonder why, And marvel, out in the cold.
in or at the place that
From this reading Maybe, in spite of their tameless days Of outcast liberty, They're sick at heart for the homely ways Where their gathered brothers be.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Blacksheep!" we cry, Safe in the inner fold; And maybe they hear, and wonder why, And marvel, out in the cold.
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading Blacksheep!" we cry, Safe in the inner fold; And maybe they hear, and wonder why, And marvel, out in the cold.
Chapter 1 of Blacksheep! Blacksheep! by Meredith Nicholson holds 411 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.
Chapter 1 holds 411 sentences of Blacksheep! Blacksheep!, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Blacksheep! Blacksheep! by Meredith Nicholson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 411 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.
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.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 1 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.
Common questions about reading Blacksheep! Blacksheep! by Meredith Nicholson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5355 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21887 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21887, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 446 minutes of reading across 1071 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Blacksheep! Blacksheep! section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of Blacksheep! Blacksheep! to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Blacksheep! Blacksheep!, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
