Chapter 18 of Mates at Billabong is here in full — 228 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Mates at Billabong is here in full — 228 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh. HENRY LAWSON. The big black thoroughbred still stood by the rails as they rode away. He had got rid of the saddle, and the broken bridle trailed from his head. No one had time to see to him.
Chapter 18 of Mates at Billabong is here in full — 228 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/45 · 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.
headgear for a horse; includes a headstall and bit and reins to give the rider or driver control
From this reading “He had got rid of the saddle, and the broken bridle trailed from his head.”
a natural stream of water smaller than a river (and often a tributary of a river)
From this reading “THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh.”
plural of “oak” — the hard durable wood of any oak; used especially for furniture and flooring
From this reading “THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh.”
a search for an alternative that meets cognitive criteria
From this reading “THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh.”
a bar or pair of parallel bars of rolled steel making the railway along which railroad cars or other vehicles can roll
From this reading “The big black thoroughbred still stood by the rails as they rode away.”
put a saddle on
From this reading “He had got rid of the saddle, and the broken bridle trailed from his head.”
a well-bred person
From this reading “The big black thoroughbred still stood by the rails as they rode away.”
past form of “trail” — to lag or linger behind
From this reading “He had got rid of the saddle, and the broken bridle trailed from his head.”
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 THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The big black thoroughbred still stood by the rails as they rode away.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading The big black thoroughbred still stood by the rails as they rode away.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The big black thoroughbred still stood by the rails as they rode away.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading The big black thoroughbred still stood by the rails as they rode away.
headgear for a horse; includes a headstall and bit and reins to give the rider or driver control
From this reading He had got rid of the saddle, and the broken bridle trailed from his head.
physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split
From this reading THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The big black thoroughbred still stood by the rails as they rode away.
inflected form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh.
a natural stream of water smaller than a river (and often a tributary of a river)
From this reading THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading He had got rid of the saddle, and the broken bridle trailed from his head.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading He had got rid of the saddle, and the broken bridle trailed from his head.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had got rid of the saddle, and the broken bridle trailed from his head.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had got rid of the saddle, and the broken bridle trailed from his head.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading He had got rid of the saddle, and the broken bridle trailed from his head.
a unit of inductance in which an induced electromotive force of one volt is produced when the current is varied at the rate of one ampere per second
From this reading HENRY LAWSON.
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading No one had time to see to him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He had got rid of the saddle, and the broken bridle trailed from his head.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HENRY LAWSON.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh.
not any; not one
From this reading No one had time to see to him.
plural of “oak” — the hard durable wood of any oak; used especially for furniture and flooring
From this reading THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He had got rid of the saddle, and the broken bridle trailed from his head.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading No one had time to see to him.
a search for an alternative that meets cognitive criteria
From this reading THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh.
a bar or pair of parallel bars of rolled steel making the railway along which railroad cars or other vehicles can roll
From this reading The big black thoroughbred still stood by the rails as they rode away.
relieve from
From this reading He had got rid of the saddle, and the broken bridle trailed from his head.
inflected form of “ride” — sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while controlling its motions
From this reading The big black thoroughbred still stood by the rails as they rode away.
put a saddle on
From this reading He had got rid of the saddle, and the broken bridle trailed from his head.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading No one had time to see to him.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh.
heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh.
a short musical composition with words
From this reading THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh.
not in physical motion
From this reading The big black thoroughbred still stood by the rails as they rode away.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading The big black thoroughbred still stood by the rails as they rode away.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The big black thoroughbred still stood by the rails as they rode away.
a well-bred person
From this reading The big black thoroughbred still stood by the rails as they rode away.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading No one had time to see to him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading No one had time to see to him.
past form of “trail” — to lag or linger behind
From this reading He had got rid of the saddle, and the broken bridle trailed from his head.
United States actress and singer (1896-1977)
From this reading THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh.
in the company of; together with
From this reading THE LONG QUEST The creek went down with a broken song, 'Neath the she oaks high; The waters carried the song along, And the oaks a sigh.
Chapter 18 of Mates at Billabong by Mary Grant Bruce holds 228 sentences, grouped into 46 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 18 holds 228 sentences of Mates at Billabong, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Mates at Billabong by Mary Grant Bruce exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 228 sentences, grouped into 46 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 46 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 46 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 18 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.
