Chapter 15 of Blacky the Crow is here in full — 43 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of Blacky the Crow is here in full — 43 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know. --Blacky the Crow. Blacky the Crow is a shrewd fellow. He is one of the smartest and shrewdest of all the little people in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows. Everybody knows it.
Chapter 15 of Blacky the Crow is here in full — 43 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.
dwell on with satisfaction
From this reading “--Blacky the Crow.”
every person
From this reading “Everybody knows it.”
the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
From this reading “He is one of the smartest and shrewdest of all the little people in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows.”
green color or pigment; resembling the color of growing grass
From this reading “He is one of the smartest and shrewdest of all the little people in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows.”
plural of “meadow” — a field where grass or alfalfa are grown to be made into hay
From this reading “He is one of the smartest and shrewdest of all the little people in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows.”
marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
From this reading “Blacky the Crow is a shrewd fellow.”
superlative of “shrewd” — marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
From this reading “He is one of the smartest and shrewdest of all the little people in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows.”
superlative of “smart” — showing mental alertness and calculation and resourcefulness
From this reading “He is one of the smartest and shrewdest of all the little people in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows.”
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 Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
(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 He is one of the smartest and shrewdest of all the little people in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading --Blacky the Crow.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
dwell on with satisfaction
From this reading --Blacky the Crow.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
every person
From this reading Everybody knows it.
a boy or man
From this reading Blacky the Crow is a shrewd fellow.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
From this reading He is one of the smartest and shrewdest of all the little people in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows.
green color or pigment; resembling the color of growing grass
From this reading He is one of the smartest and shrewdest of all the little people in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He is one of the smartest and shrewdest of all the little people in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He is one of the smartest and shrewdest of all the little people in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Everybody knows it.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading Everybody knows it.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading He is one of the smartest and shrewdest of all the little people in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
plural of “meadow” — a field where grass or alfalfa are grown to be made into hay
From this reading He is one of the smartest and shrewdest of all the little people in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading He is one of the smartest and shrewdest of all the little people in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading He is one of the smartest and shrewdest of all the little people in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading He is one of the smartest and shrewdest of all the little people in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows.
marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
From this reading Blacky the Crow is a shrewd fellow.
superlative of “shrewd” — marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
From this reading He is one of the smartest and shrewdest of all the little people in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows.
superlative of “smart” — showing mental alertness and calculation and resourcefulness
From this reading He is one of the smartest and shrewdest of all the little people in the Green Forest and on the Green Meadows.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
carry out
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
at the time that
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading Do not take the word of others That things are or are not so When there is a chance that you may Find out for yourself and know.
Chapter 15 of Blacky the Crow by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess holds 43 sentences, grouped into 9 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 15 holds 43 sentences of Blacky the Crow, unabridged, divided into 9 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Blacky the Crow by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 43 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 15 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, a public-domain edition. 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.
