Chapter 2 of Blacky the Crow is here in full — 53 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Blacky the Crow is here in full — 53 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“As true as ever I've cawed a caw That was a new-laid egg I saw.” “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself. “Oh nothing, Cousin, nothing at all,” replied Blacky. “I was just talking foolishness to myself.” Sammy looked at him sharply.
Chapter 2 of Blacky the Crow is here in full — 53 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/10 · 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.
utter a cry, characteristic of crows, rooks, or ravens
From this reading ““As true as ever I've cawed a caw That was a new-laid egg I saw.””
dwell on with satisfaction
From this reading ““What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.”
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading ““What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.”
animal reproductive body consisting of an ovum or embryo together with nutritive and protective envelopes; especially the thin-shelled reproductive body laid by e.g. female birds
From this reading ““As true as ever I've cawed a caw That was a new-laid egg I saw.””
the trait of acting stupidly or rashly
From this reading ““I was just talking foolishness to myself.””
United States diplomat and jurist who negotiated peace treaties with Britain and served as the first chief justice of the United States Supreme Court (1745-1829)
From this reading ““What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.”
indistinct enunciation
From this reading ““What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.”
in an aggressive manner
From this reading “Sammy looked at him sharply.”
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 before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading “As true as ever I've cawed a caw That was a new-laid egg I saw.”
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading “Oh nothing, Cousin, nothing at all,” replied Blacky.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “As true as ever I've cawed a caw That was a new-laid egg I saw.”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading “Oh nothing, Cousin, nothing at all,” replied Blacky.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
utter a cry, characteristic of crows, rooks, or ravens
From this reading “As true as ever I've cawed a caw That was a new-laid egg I saw.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “As true as ever I've cawed a caw That was a new-laid egg I saw.”
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
the child of your aunt or uncle
From this reading “Oh nothing, Cousin, nothing at all,” replied Blacky.
dwell on with satisfaction
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
past form of “demand” — request urgently and forcefully
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
animal reproductive body consisting of an ovum or embryo together with nutritive and protective envelopes; especially the thin-shelled reproductive body laid by e.g. female birds
From this reading “As true as ever I've cawed a caw That was a new-laid egg I saw.”
at any time
From this reading “As true as ever I've cawed a caw That was a new-laid egg I saw.”
the trait of acting stupidly or rashly
From this reading “I was just talking foolishness to myself.”
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Sammy looked at him sharply.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “As true as ever I've cawed a caw That was a new-laid egg I saw.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “As true as ever I've cawed a caw That was a new-laid egg I saw.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
United States diplomat and jurist who negotiated peace treaties with Britain and served as the first chief justice of the United States Supreme Court (1745-1829)
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
and nothing more
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
immediately past
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Sammy looked at him sharply.
indistinct enunciation
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading “I was just talking foolishness to myself.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “As true as ever I've cawed a caw That was a new-laid egg I saw.”
not one thing; not anything
From this reading “Oh nothing, Cousin, nothing at all,” replied Blacky.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading “Oh nothing, Cousin, nothing at all,” replied Blacky.
something determined in relation to something that includes it
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading “Oh nothing, Cousin, nothing at all,” replied Blacky.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
cut with a saw
From this reading “As true as ever I've cawed a caw That was a new-laid egg I saw.”
in an aggressive manner
From this reading Sammy looked at him sharply.
an exchange of ideas via conversation
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “As true as ever I've cawed a caw That was a new-laid egg I saw.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading “As true as ever I've cawed a caw That was a new-laid egg I saw.”
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “As true as ever I've cawed a caw That was a new-laid egg I saw.”
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “What are you talking about?” demanded Sammy Jay, coming up just in time to hear the last part of what Blacky the Crow was mumbling to himself.
Chapter 2 of Blacky the Crow by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess holds 53 sentences, grouped into 11 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 2 holds 53 sentences of Blacky the Crow, unabridged, divided into 11 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Blacky the Crow by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 53 sentences, grouped into 11 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 11 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 11 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 2 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 Blacky the Crow by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1472 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4979 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4979, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 122 minutes of reading across 295 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Blacky the Crow section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of Blacky the Crow 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 Blacky the Crow, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
