Chapter 8 of Children of the Bush 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 VIII
Chapter 8 of Children of the Bush is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush. She whined about the climate. “It will kill the children! It will kill the children! We’ll never rear them here!”
Chapter 8 of Children of the Bush 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.
a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems
From this reading “By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.”
the weather in some location averaged over some long period of time
From this reading “She whined about the climate.”
an established custom
From this reading “By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.”
cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading ““It will kill the children!”
the back of a military formation or procession
From this reading “We’ll never rear them here!””
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading “By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.”
not neat and tidy
From this reading “By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.”
-ing form of “whine” — move with a whining sound
From this reading “By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.”
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 By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading She whined about the climate.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading “It will kill the children!
the weather in some location averaged over some long period of time
From this reading She whined about the climate.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
an established custom
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading We’ll never rear them here!”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “It will kill the children!
cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly
From this reading “It will kill the children!
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading We’ll never rear them here!”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
the back of a military formation or procession
From this reading We’ll never rear them here!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading We’ll never rear them here!”
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
not neat and tidy
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We’ll never rear them here!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She whined about the climate.
-ing form of “whine” — move with a whining sound
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “It will kill the children!
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
used until no longer useful
From this reading By her voice and her habit of whining she should have been a thin, sharp-faced, untidy, draggled-tailed woman in a back street in London, or a worn-out selector’s wife in the bush.
Chapter 8 of Children of the Bush by Henry Lawson holds 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 8 holds 411 sentences of Children of the Bush, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Children of the Bush by Henry Lawson exactly as it stands in the public-domain 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 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 Children of the Bush by Henry Lawson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4553 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #7065 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #7065, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 379 minutes of reading across 911 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Children of the Bush section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Children of the Bush 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 Children of the Bush, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
