Chapter 9 of Mother Carey's Chicken is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Mother Carey's Chicken is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Well, I do call that shabby," muttered Billy. "Just as I was a taking all this trouble. Here, you, sir, shy down one o' them nuts." "Chick!" said Jack. "Do you hear?"
Chapter 9 of Mother Carey's Chicken is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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 short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading “"Well, I do call that shabby," muttered Billy.”
young bird especially of domestic fowl
From this reading “"Chick!" said Jack.”
a small worthless amount
From this reading “"Chick!" said Jack.”
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading “"Well, I do call that shabby," muttered Billy.”
informal or slang terms for mentally irregular
From this reading “Here, you, sir, shy down one o' them nuts."”
showing signs of wear and tear
From this reading “"Well, I do call that shabby," muttered Billy.”
start suddenly, as from fright
From this reading “Here, you, sir, shy down one o' them nuts."”
a source of difficulty
From this reading “"Just as I was a taking all this trouble.”
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 "Just as I was a taking all this trouble.
(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 "Just as I was a taking all this trouble.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Just as I was a taking all this trouble.
a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading "Well, I do call that shabby," muttered Billy.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading "Well, I do call that shabby," muttered Billy.
young bird especially of domestic fowl
From this reading "Chick!" said Jack.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Well, I do call that shabby," muttered Billy.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Here, you, sir, shy down one o' them nuts."
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading "Do you hear?"
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Here, you, sir, shy down one o' them nuts."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Well, I do call that shabby," muttered Billy.
a small worthless amount
From this reading "Chick!" said Jack.
and nothing more
From this reading "Just as I was a taking all this trouble.
past form of “mutter” — talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice
From this reading "Well, I do call that shabby," muttered Billy.
informal or slang terms for mentally irregular
From this reading Here, you, sir, shy down one o' them nuts."
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading Here, you, sir, shy down one o' them nuts."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Here, you, sir, shy down one o' them nuts."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Chick!" said Jack.
showing signs of wear and tear
From this reading "Well, I do call that shabby," muttered Billy.
start suddenly, as from fright
From this reading Here, you, sir, shy down one o' them nuts."
term of address for a man
From this reading Here, you, sir, shy down one o' them nuts."
the act of someone who picks up or takes something
From this reading "Just as I was a taking all this trouble.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Well, I do call that shabby," muttered Billy.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Here, you, sir, shy down one o' them nuts."
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "Just as I was a taking all this trouble.
a source of difficulty
From this reading "Just as I was a taking all this trouble.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Just as I was a taking all this 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, I do call that shabby," muttered Billy.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Here, you, sir, shy down one o' them nuts."
Chapter 9 of Mother Carey's Chicken by George Manville Fenn holds 428 sentences, grouped into 86 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 9 holds 428 sentences of Mother Carey's Chicken, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Mother Carey's Chicken by George Manville Fenn exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 428 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 9 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 Mother Carey's Chicken by George Manville Fenn on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6368 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21296 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21296, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 530 minutes of reading across 1274 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mother Carey's Chicken section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of Mother Carey's Chicken 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 Mother Carey's Chicken, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
