Chapter 8 of Bonnie Prince Fetlar is here in full — 222 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Bonnie Prince Fetlar is here in full — 222 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A GREAT SECRET The children had all swept up to the nice clean barnyard. "I say," cried Cassowary, pushing her way among them, "what's the trouble?" Champ was speaking--"Dad said Drunkard wasn't to be let loose till dark and it's only dusk now." "He didn't," yelled Big Chief, "he said in blindman's holiday." "Well, blindman's holiday is black dark."
Chapter 8 of Bonnie Prince Fetlar is here in full — 222 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/44 · 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.
a yard adjoining a barn
From this reading “A GREAT SECRET The children had all swept up to the nice clean barnyard.”
large black flightless bird of Australia and New Guinea having a horny head crest
From this reading “"I say," cried Cassowary, pushing her way among them, "what's the trouble?"”
someone who has won first place in a competition
From this reading “Champ was speaking--"Dad said Drunkard wasn't to be let loose till dark and it's only dusk now."”
a chronic drinker
From this reading “Champ was speaking--"Dad said Drunkard wasn't to be let loose till dark and it's only dusk now."”
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading “Champ was speaking--"Dad said Drunkard wasn't to be let loose till dark and it's only dusk now."”
leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure
From this reading “"He didn't," yelled Big Chief, "he said in blindman's holiday."”
the act of applying force in order to move something away
From this reading “"I say," cried Cassowary, pushing her way among them, "what's the trouble?"”
in a vehement outcry
From this reading “"He didn't," yelled Big Chief, "he said in blindman's holiday."”
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.
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 A GREAT SECRET The children had all swept up to the nice clean barnyard.
(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 A GREAT SECRET The children had all swept up to the nice clean barnyard.
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading "I say," cried Cassowary, pushing her way among them, "what's the trouble?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Champ was speaking--"Dad said Drunkard wasn't to be let loose till dark and it's only dusk now."
a yard adjoining a barn
From this reading A GREAT SECRET The children had all swept up to the nice clean barnyard.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Champ was speaking--"Dad said Drunkard wasn't to be let loose till dark and it's only dusk now."
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "He didn't," yelled Big Chief, "he said in blindman's holiday."
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading "Well, blindman's holiday is black dark."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "He didn't," yelled Big Chief, "he said in blindman's holiday."
large black flightless bird of Australia and New Guinea having a horny head crest
From this reading "I say," cried Cassowary, pushing her way among them, "what's the trouble?"
someone who has won first place in a competition
From this reading Champ was speaking--"Dad said Drunkard wasn't to be let loose till dark and it's only dusk now."
a person who is in charge
From this reading "He didn't," yelled Big Chief, "he said in blindman's holiday."
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading A GREAT SECRET The children had all swept up to the nice clean barnyard.
free from dirt or impurities; or having clean habits
From this reading A GREAT SECRET The children had all swept up to the nice clean barnyard.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "I say," cried Cassowary, pushing her way among them, "what's the trouble?"
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading Champ was speaking--"Dad said Drunkard wasn't to be let loose till dark and it's only dusk now."
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Champ was speaking--"Dad said Drunkard wasn't to be let loose till dark and it's only dusk now."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "He didn't," yelled Big Chief, "he said in blindman's holiday."
a chronic drinker
From this reading Champ was speaking--"Dad said Drunkard wasn't to be let loose till dark and it's only dusk now."
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading Champ was speaking--"Dad said Drunkard wasn't to be let loose till dark and it's only dusk now."
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading A GREAT SECRET The children had all swept up to the nice clean barnyard.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading A GREAT SECRET The children had all swept up to the nice clean barnyard.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "He didn't," yelled Big Chief, "he said in blindman's holiday."
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading "I say," cried Cassowary, pushing her way among them, "what's the trouble?"
leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure
From this reading "He didn't," yelled Big Chief, "he said in blindman's holiday."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I say," cried Cassowary, pushing her way among them, "what's the trouble?"
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "He didn't," yelled Big Chief, "he said in blindman's holiday."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Well, blindman's holiday is black dark."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Champ was speaking--"Dad said Drunkard wasn't to be let loose till dark and it's only dusk now."
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Champ was speaking--"Dad said Drunkard wasn't to be let loose till dark and it's only dusk now."
not compact or dense in structure or arrangement
From this reading Champ was speaking--"Dad said Drunkard wasn't to be let loose till dark and it's only dusk now."
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading A GREAT SECRET The children had all swept up to the nice clean barnyard.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Champ was speaking--"Dad said Drunkard wasn't to be let loose till dark and it's only dusk now."
and nothing more
From this reading Champ was speaking--"Dad said Drunkard wasn't to be let loose till dark and it's only dusk now."
the act of applying force in order to move something away
From this reading "I say," cried Cassowary, pushing her way among them, "what's the trouble?"
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Champ was speaking--"Dad said Drunkard wasn't to be let loose till dark and it's only dusk now."
express in words
From this reading "I say," cried Cassowary, pushing her way among them, "what's the trouble?"
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading A GREAT SECRET The children had all swept up to the nice clean barnyard.
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading Champ was speaking--"Dad said Drunkard wasn't to be let loose till dark and it's only dusk now."
possessing sweep
From this reading A GREAT SECRET The children had all swept up to the nice clean barnyard.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A GREAT SECRET The children had all swept up to the nice clean barnyard.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading "I say," cried Cassowary, pushing her way among them, "what's the trouble?"
up to a particular time
From this reading Champ was speaking--"Dad said Drunkard wasn't to be let loose till dark and it's only dusk now."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A GREAT SECRET The children had all swept up to the nice clean barnyard.
a source of difficulty
From this reading "I say," cried Cassowary, pushing her way among them, "what's the trouble?"
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading A GREAT SECRET The children had all swept up to the nice clean barnyard.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Champ was speaking--"Dad said Drunkard wasn't to be let loose till dark and it's only dusk now."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Champ was speaking--"Dad said Drunkard wasn't to be let loose till dark and it's only dusk now."
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading "I say," cried Cassowary, pushing her way among them, "what's the trouble?"
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, blindman's holiday is black dark."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I say," cried Cassowary, pushing her way among them, "what's the trouble?"
in a vehement outcry
From this reading "He didn't," yelled Big Chief, "he said in blindman's holiday."
Chapter 8 of Bonnie Prince Fetlar by Marshall Saunders holds 222 sentences, grouped into 45 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 8 holds 222 sentences of Bonnie Prince Fetlar, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Bonnie Prince Fetlar by Marshall Saunders exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 222 sentences, grouped into 45 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 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 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 8 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 Bonnie Prince Fetlar by Marshall Saunders on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5875 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #49459 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #49459, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 489 minutes of reading across 1175 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Bonnie Prince Fetlar section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of Bonnie Prince Fetlar 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 Bonnie Prince Fetlar, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
