Chapter 3 of Blacky the Crow is here in full — 42 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Blacky the Crow is here in full — 42 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Two big white eggs in a tumbledown nest, and snow and ice everywhere! Did ever anybody hear of such a thing before? “Wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,” muttered Blacky the Crow. “Have to believe them. If I can't believe them, it's of no use to try to believe anything in this world.
Chapter 3 of Blacky the Crow is here in full — 42 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/8 · 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.
any person at all
From this reading “Did ever anybody hear of such a thing before?”
dwell on with satisfaction
From this reading ““Wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,” muttered Blacky the Crow.”
oval reproductive body of a fowl (especially a hen) used as food
From this reading “Two big white eggs in a tumbledown nest, and snow and ice everywhere!”
to or in any or all places
From this reading “Two big white eggs in a tumbledown nest, and snow and ice everywhere!”
water frozen in the solid state
From this reading “Two big white eggs in a tumbledown nest, and snow and ice everywhere!”
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading ““Wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,” muttered Blacky the Crow.”
a structure in which animals lay eggs or give birth to their young
From this reading “Two big white eggs in a tumbledown nest, and snow and ice everywhere!”
precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading “Two big white eggs in a tumbledown nest, and snow and ice everywhere!”
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 Two big white eggs in a tumbledown nest, and snow and ice everywhere!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Two big white eggs in a tumbledown nest, and snow and ice everywhere!
any person at all
From this reading Did ever anybody hear of such a thing before?
any thing at all
From this reading If I can't believe them, it's of no use to try to believe anything in this world.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Did ever anybody hear of such a thing before?
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading “Wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,” muttered Blacky the Crow.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Two big white eggs in a tumbledown nest, and snow and ice everywhere!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,” muttered Blacky the Crow.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If I can't believe them, it's of no use to try to believe anything in this world.
dwell on with satisfaction
From this reading “Wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,” muttered Blacky the Crow.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Did ever anybody hear of such a thing before?
oval reproductive body of a fowl (especially a hen) used as food
From this reading Two big white eggs in a tumbledown nest, and snow and ice everywhere!
at any time
From this reading Did ever anybody hear of such a thing before?
to or in any or all places
From this reading Two big white eggs in a tumbledown nest, and snow and ice everywhere!
opinion or judgment
From this reading “Wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,” muttered Blacky the Crow.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,” muttered Blacky the Crow.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “Have to believe them.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading Did ever anybody hear of such a thing before?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,” muttered Blacky the Crow.
water frozen in the solid state
From this reading Two big white eggs in a tumbledown nest, and snow and ice everywhere!
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading “Wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,” muttered Blacky the Crow.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Two big white eggs in a tumbledown nest, and snow and ice everywhere!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,” muttered Blacky the Crow.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If I can't believe them, it's of no use to try to believe anything in this world.
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading “Wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,” muttered Blacky the Crow.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “Wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,” muttered Blacky the Crow.
a structure in which animals lay eggs or give birth to their young
From this reading Two big white eggs in a tumbledown nest, and snow and ice everywhere!
not any; not one
From this reading If I can't believe them, it's of no use to try to believe anything in this world.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Did ever anybody hear of such a thing before?
have ownership or possession of
From this reading “Wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,” muttered Blacky the Crow.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading “Wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,” muttered Blacky the Crow.
precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading Two big white eggs in a tumbledown nest, and snow and ice everywhere!
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Did ever anybody hear of such a thing before?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,” muttered Blacky the Crow.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading “Have to believe them.
a special situation
From this reading Did ever anybody hear of such a thing before?
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading If I can't believe them, it's of no use to try to believe anything in this world.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “Have to believe them.
make an effort or attempt
From this reading If I can't believe them, it's of no use to try to believe anything in this world.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Two big white eggs in a tumbledown nest, and snow and ice everywhere!
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Two big white eggs in a tumbledown nest, and snow and ice everywhere!
the act of using
From this reading If I can't believe them, it's of no use to try to believe anything in this world.
a Caucasian
From this reading Two big white eggs in a tumbledown nest, and snow and ice everywhere!
in the company of; together with
From this reading “Wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,” muttered Blacky the Crow.
everything that exists anywhere
From this reading If I can't believe them, it's of no use to try to believe anything in this world.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Wouldn't believe it, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes,” muttered Blacky the Crow.
Chapter 3 of Blacky the Crow by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess holds 42 sentences, grouped into 9 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 3 holds 42 sentences of Blacky the Crow, unabridged, divided into 9 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Blacky the Crow by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 42 sentences, grouped into 9 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 9 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 9 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 3 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.
