Chapter 17 of Mates at Billabong is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Mates at Billabong is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BROTHER AND SISTER We were mates together, And I shall not forget. W. H. OGILVIE. Jim had not wanted to tell Norah. It had been Brownie who had counselled differently. "I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.
Chapter 17 of Mates at Billabong is here in full — 151 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/30 · 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.
plural of “boot” — footwear that covers the whole foot and lower leg
From this reading “"I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.”
a junior Girl Scout
From this reading “It had been Brownie who had counselled differently.”
in another and different manner
From this reading “It had been Brownie who had counselled differently.”
-ing form of “flick” — flash intermittently
From this reading “"I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.”
a room equipped for preparing meals
From this reading “"I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.”
a pair of people who live together
From this reading “BROTHER AND SISTER We were mates together, And I shall not forget.”
in a mechanical manner; by a mechanism
From this reading “"I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.”
beat severely with a whip or rod
From this reading “"I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading BROTHER AND SISTER We were mates together, And I shall not forget.
have
From this reading "I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading It had been Brownie who had counselled differently.
plural of “boot” — footwear that covers the whole foot and lower leg
From this reading "I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.
a youthful male person
From this reading "I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.
a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading BROTHER AND SISTER We were mates together, And I shall not forget.
a junior Girl Scout
From this reading It had been Brownie who had counselled differently.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It had been Brownie who had counselled differently.
in another and different manner
From this reading It had been Brownie who had counselled differently.
the boundary of a surface
From this reading "I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading "I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.
-ing form of “flick” — flash intermittently
From this reading "I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.
dismiss from the mind; stop remembering
From this reading BROTHER AND SISTER We were mates together, And I shall not forget.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.
a nonmetallic univalent element that is normally a colorless and odorless highly flammable diatomic gas; the simplest and lightest and most abundant element in the universe
From this reading W. H. OGILVIE.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Jim had not wanted to tell Norah.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading BROTHER AND SISTER We were mates together, And I shall not forget.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It had been Brownie who had counselled differently.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jim had not wanted to tell Norah.
a room equipped for preparing meals
From this reading "I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.
a pair of people who live together
From this reading BROTHER AND SISTER We were mates together, And I shall not forget.
in a mechanical manner; by a mechanism
From this reading "I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Jim had not wanted to tell Norah.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading BROTHER AND SISTER We were mates together, And I shall not forget.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading W. H. OGILVIE.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading "I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading BROTHER AND SISTER We were mates together, And I shall not forget.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.
a female person who has the same parents as another person
From this reading BROTHER AND SISTER We were mates together, And I shall not forget.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading "I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading "I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.
express in words
From this reading Jim had not wanted to tell Norah.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading "I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Jim had not wanted to tell Norah.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading BROTHER AND SISTER We were mates together, And I shall not forget.
a heavy grey-white metallic element; the pure form is used mainly in electrical applications; it is found in several ores including wolframite and scheelite
From this reading W. H. OGILVIE.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading Jim had not wanted to tell Norah.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading BROTHER AND SISTER We were mates together, And I shall not forget.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading BROTHER AND SISTER We were mates together, And I shall not forget.
beat severely with a whip or rod
From this reading "I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.
which person or people
From this reading It had been Brownie who had counselled differently.
in the company of; together with
From this reading "I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip.
Chapter 17 of Mates at Billabong by Mary Grant Bruce holds 151 sentences, grouped into 31 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 17 holds 151 sentences of Mates at Billabong, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Mates at Billabong by Mary Grant Bruce exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 151 sentences, grouped into 31 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 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 31 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 17 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 Mates at Billabong by Mary Grant Bruce on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4194 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4050 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4050, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 349 minutes of reading across 839 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mates at Billabong section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of Mates at Billabong 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 Mates at Billabong, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
