Chapter 2 of Pussy Black-Face is here in full — 206 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Pussy Black-Face is here in full — 206 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A CAT'S REFUGE Where am I? Can I collect my thoughts and reflect a little—was there ever such an unhappy cat? Only last night I sat and purred myself to sleep beside my dear mother. Pressed close against her soft fur, I had no thought of harm, and now where am I? But I must not be silly.
Chapter 2 of Pussy Black-Face is here in full — 206 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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.
feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
From this reading “A CAT'S REFUGE Where am I?”
possessive form of “cat” — feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
From this reading “A CAT'S REFUGE Where am I?”
get or gather together
From this reading “Can I collect my thoughts and reflect a little—was there ever such an unhappy cat?”
the dressed hairy coat of a mammal
From this reading “Pressed close against her soft fur, I had no thought of harm, and now where am I?”
manifest or bring back
From this reading “Can I collect my thoughts and reflect a little—was there ever such an unhappy cat?”
a safe place
From this reading “A CAT'S REFUGE Where am I?”
ludicrous, foolish
From this reading “But I must not be silly.”
experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent
From this reading “Can I collect my thoughts and reflect a little—was there ever such an unhappy cat?”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “Only last night I sat and purred myself to sleep beside my dear mother.”
In this reading “Pressed close against her soft fur, I had no thought of harm, and now where am I?”
In this reading “Only last night I sat and purred myself to sleep beside my dear mother.”
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 A CAT'S REFUGE Where am I?
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Pressed close against her soft fur, I had no thought of harm, and now where am I?
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading A CAT'S REFUGE Where am I?
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Can I collect my thoughts and reflect a little—was there ever such an unhappy cat?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Can I collect my thoughts and reflect a little—was there ever such an unhappy cat?
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading But I must not be silly.
next to; at the side of
From this reading Only last night I sat and purred myself to sleep beside my dear mother.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But I must not be silly.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Can I collect my thoughts and reflect a little—was there ever such an unhappy cat?
feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
From this reading Can I collect my thoughts and reflect a little—was there ever such an unhappy cat?
possessive form of “cat” — feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
From this reading A CAT'S REFUGE Where am I?
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading Pressed close against her soft fur, I had no thought of harm, and now where am I?
get or gather together
From this reading Can I collect my thoughts and reflect a little—was there ever such an unhappy cat?
dearly loved
From this reading Only last night I sat and purred myself to sleep beside my dear mother.
at any time
From this reading Can I collect my thoughts and reflect a little—was there ever such an unhappy cat?
the dressed hairy coat of a mammal
From this reading Pressed close against her soft fur, I had no thought of harm, and now where am I?
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Pressed close against her soft fur, I had no thought of harm, and now where am I?
any physical damage to the body caused by violence or accident or fracture etc.
From this reading Pressed close against her soft fur, I had no thought of harm, and now where am I?
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Pressed close against her soft fur, I had no thought of harm, and now where am I?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading A CAT'S REFUGE Where am I?
immediately past
From this reading Only last night I sat and purred myself to sleep beside my dear mother.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Can I collect my thoughts and reflect a little—was there ever such an unhappy cat?
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Only last night I sat and purred myself to sleep beside my dear mother.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading But I must not be silly.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Can I collect my thoughts and reflect a little—was there ever such an unhappy cat?
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading Only last night I sat and purred myself to sleep beside my dear mother.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Only last night I sat and purred myself to sleep beside my dear mother.
not any; not one
From this reading Pressed close against her soft fur, I had no thought of harm, and now where am I?
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But I must not be silly.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Pressed close against her soft fur, I had no thought of harm, and now where am I?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Pressed close against her soft fur, I had no thought of harm, and now where am I?
and nothing more
From this reading Only last night I sat and purred myself to sleep beside my dear mother.
compacted by ironing
From this reading Pressed close against her soft fur, I had no thought of harm, and now where am I?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Only last night I sat and purred myself to sleep beside my dear mother.
manifest or bring back
From this reading Can I collect my thoughts and reflect a little—was there ever such an unhappy cat?
a safe place
From this reading A CAT'S REFUGE Where am I?
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading Only last night I sat and purred myself to sleep beside my dear mother.
ludicrous, foolish
From this reading But I must not be silly.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading Only last night I sat and purred myself to sleep beside my dear mother.
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading Pressed close against her soft fur, I had no thought of harm, and now where am I?
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Can I collect my thoughts and reflect a little—was there ever such an unhappy cat?
in or at that place or location
From this reading Can I collect my thoughts and reflect a little—was there ever such an unhappy cat?
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Pressed close against her soft fur, I had no thought of harm, and now where am I?
plural of “thought” — the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Can I collect my thoughts and reflect a little—was there ever such an unhappy cat?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Only last night I sat and purred myself to sleep beside my dear mother.
experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent
From this reading Can I collect my thoughts and reflect a little—was there ever such an unhappy cat?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Can I collect my thoughts and reflect a little—was there ever such an unhappy cat?
in or at the place that
From this reading A CAT'S REFUGE Where am I?
Chapter 2 of Pussy Black-Face by Marshall Saunders holds 206 sentences, grouped into 42 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 2 holds 206 sentences of Pussy Black-Face, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Pussy Black-Face by Marshall Saunders exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 206 sentences, grouped into 42 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 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 42 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 2 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 Pussy Black-Face by Marshall Saunders on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4148 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #52787 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #52787, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 345 minutes of reading across 830 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Pussy Black-Face section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Pussy Black-Face 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 Pussy Black-Face, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
