Chapter 18 of Openings in the Old Trail is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of Openings in the Old Trail is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The stockade was near a spring,--a necessity for the menagerie. Peggy brought him water in a dipper. She sighed a little; her “butcher bird”--now lost forever--had been the last to drink from it! The water seemed to revive him. “The rattlesnakes scared the cowards,” he said, with an attempt to smile.
Chapter 18 of Openings in the Old Trail is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
kill (animals) usually for food consumption
From this reading “She sighed a little; her “butcher bird”--now lost forever--had been the last to drink from it!”
plural of “coward” — a person who shows fear or timidity
From this reading ““The rattlesnakes scared the cowards,” he said, with an attempt to smile.”
a ladle that has a cup with a long handle
From this reading “Peggy brought him water in a dipper.”
a collection of live animals for study or display
From this reading “The stockade was near a spring,--a necessity for the menagerie.”
plural of “rattlesnake” — pit viper with horny segments at the end of the tail that rattle when shaken
From this reading ““The rattlesnakes scared the cowards,” he said, with an attempt to smile.”
cause to regain consciousness
From this reading “The water seemed to revive him.”
made afraid
From this reading ““The rattlesnakes scared the cowards,” he said, with an attempt to smile.”
fortification consisting of a fence made of a line of stout posts set firmly for defense
From this reading “The stockade was near a spring,--a necessity for the menagerie.”
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 stockade was near a spring,--a necessity for the menagerie.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading “The rattlesnakes scared the cowards,” he said, with an attempt to smile.
earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
From this reading “The rattlesnakes scared the cowards,” he said, with an attempt to smile.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading She sighed a little; her “butcher bird”--now lost forever--had been the last to drink from it!
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading She sighed a little; her “butcher bird”--now lost forever--had been the last to drink from it!
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading Peggy brought him water in a dipper.
kill (animals) usually for food consumption
From this reading She sighed a little; her “butcher bird”--now lost forever--had been the last to drink from it!
plural of “coward” — a person who shows fear or timidity
From this reading “The rattlesnakes scared the cowards,” he said, with an attempt to smile.
a ladle that has a cup with a long handle
From this reading Peggy brought him water in a dipper.
take in liquids
From this reading She sighed a little; her “butcher bird”--now lost forever--had been the last to drink from it!
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The stockade was near a spring,--a necessity for the menagerie.
for a limitless time
From this reading She sighed a little; her “butcher bird”--now lost forever--had been the last to drink from it!
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading She sighed a little; her “butcher bird”--now lost forever--had been the last to drink from it!
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She sighed a little; her “butcher bird”--now lost forever--had been the last to drink from it!
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “The rattlesnakes scared the cowards,” he said, with an attempt to smile.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She sighed a little; her “butcher bird”--now lost forever--had been the last to drink from it!
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Peggy brought him water in a dipper.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Peggy brought him water in a dipper.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading She sighed a little; her “butcher bird”--now lost forever--had been the last to drink from it!
immediately past
From this reading She sighed a little; her “butcher bird”--now lost forever--had been the last to drink from it!
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading She sighed a little; her “butcher bird”--now lost forever--had been the last to drink from it!
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading She sighed a little; her “butcher bird”--now lost forever--had been the last to drink from it!
a collection of live animals for study or display
From this reading The stockade was near a spring,--a necessity for the menagerie.
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading The stockade was near a spring,--a necessity for the menagerie.
the condition of being essential or indispensable
From this reading The stockade was near a spring,--a necessity for the menagerie.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading She sighed a little; her “butcher bird”--now lost forever--had been the last to drink from it!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Peggy brought him water in a dipper.
plural of “rattlesnake” — pit viper with horny segments at the end of the tail that rattle when shaken
From this reading “The rattlesnakes scared the cowards,” he said, with an attempt to smile.
cause to regain consciousness
From this reading The water seemed to revive him.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “The rattlesnakes scared the cowards,” he said, with an attempt to smile.
made afraid
From this reading “The rattlesnakes scared the cowards,” he said, with an attempt to smile.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading The water seemed to revive him.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She sighed a little; her “butcher bird”--now lost forever--had been the last to drink from it!
past form of “sigh” — heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading She sighed a little; her “butcher bird”--now lost forever--had been the last to drink from it!
change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading “The rattlesnakes scared the cowards,” he said, with an attempt to smile.
the season of growth
From this reading The stockade was near a spring,--a necessity for the menagerie.
fortification consisting of a fence made of a line of stout posts set firmly for defense
From this reading The stockade was near a spring,--a necessity for the menagerie.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The stockade was near a spring,--a necessity for the menagerie.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She sighed a little; her “butcher bird”--now lost forever--had been the last to drink from it!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The stockade was near a spring,--a necessity for the menagerie.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading Peggy brought him water in a dipper.
in the company of; together with
From this reading “The rattlesnakes scared the cowards,” he said, with an attempt to smile.
Chapter 18 of Openings in the Old Trail by Bret Harte holds 179 sentences, grouped into 36 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 179 sentences of Openings in the Old Trail, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of Openings in the Old Trail by Bret Harte exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 179 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 Openings in the Old Trail by Bret Harte on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3277 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2535 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2535, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 273 minutes of reading across 656 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Openings in the Old Trail section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of Openings in the Old Trail 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 Openings in the Old Trail, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
