Chapter 9 of The Bad Little Owls is here in full — 147 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of The Bad Little Owls is here in full — 147 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
TROUBLE COMES HOME TO THE BAD LITTLE OWLS Well, Killer waited, and waited, and waited. But nobody came at all. Nobody unless you count the bats. Killer didn’t because only a bird can catch them when they’re awake, and it’s a mighty lucky bird if it does. He got hungrier, and hungrier, and hungrier.
Chapter 9 of The Bad Little Owls is here in full — 147 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
not in a state of sleep; completely conscious
From this reading “Killer didn’t because only a bird can catch them when they’re awake, and it’s a mighty lucky bird if it does.”
informal or slang terms for mentally irregular
From this reading “Nobody unless you count the bats.”
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading “Killer didn’t because only a bird can catch them when they’re awake, and it’s a mighty lucky bird if it does.”
comparative of “hungry” — feeling hunger; feeling a need or desire to eat food
From this reading “He got hungrier, and hungrier, and hungrier.”
someone who causes the death of a person or animal
From this reading “TROUBLE COMES HOME TO THE BAD LITTLE OWLS Well, Killer waited, and waited, and waited.”
occurring by chance
From this reading “Killer didn’t because only a bird can catch them when they’re awake, and it’s a mighty lucky bird if it does.”
having or showing great strength or force or intensity
From this reading “Killer didn’t because only a bird can catch them when they’re awake, and it’s a mighty lucky bird if it does.”
plural of “owl” — nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes
From this reading “TROUBLE COMES HOME TO THE BAD LITTLE OWLS Well, Killer waited, and waited, and waited.”
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.
become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions
In this reading “TROUBLE COMES HOME TO THE BAD LITTLE OWLS Well, Killer waited, and waited, and waited.”
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 Killer didn’t because only a bird can catch them when they’re awake, and it’s a mighty lucky bird if it does.
(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 But nobody came at all.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading TROUBLE COMES HOME TO THE BAD LITTLE OWLS Well, Killer waited, and waited, and waited.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading But nobody came at all.
not in a state of sleep; completely conscious
From this reading Killer didn’t because only a bird can catch them when they’re awake, and it’s a mighty lucky bird if it does.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading TROUBLE COMES HOME TO THE BAD LITTLE OWLS Well, Killer waited, and waited, and waited.
informal or slang terms for mentally irregular
From this reading Nobody unless you count the bats.
for the reason that
From this reading Killer didn’t because only a bird can catch them when they’re awake, and it’s a mighty lucky bird if it does.
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading Killer didn’t because only a bird can catch them when they’re awake, and it’s a mighty lucky bird if it does.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But nobody came at all.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading But nobody came at all.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Killer didn’t because only a bird can catch them when they’re awake, and it’s a mighty lucky bird if it does.
discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading Killer didn’t because only a bird can catch them when they’re awake, and it’s a mighty lucky bird if it does.
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading TROUBLE COMES HOME TO THE BAD LITTLE OWLS Well, Killer waited, and waited, and waited.
determine the number or amount of
From this reading Nobody unless you count the bats.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Killer didn’t because only a bird can catch them when they’re awake, and it’s a mighty lucky bird if it does.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Killer didn’t because only a bird can catch them when they’re awake, and it’s a mighty lucky bird if it does.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading He got hungrier, and hungrier, and hungrier.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He got hungrier, and hungrier, and hungrier.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading TROUBLE COMES HOME TO THE BAD LITTLE OWLS Well, Killer waited, and waited, and waited.
comparative of “hungry” — feeling hunger; feeling a need or desire to eat food
From this reading He got hungrier, and hungrier, and hungrier.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Killer didn’t because only a bird can catch them when they’re awake, and it’s a mighty lucky bird if it does.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Killer didn’t because only a bird can catch them when they’re awake, and it’s a mighty lucky bird if it does.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Killer didn’t because only a bird can catch them when they’re awake, and it’s a mighty lucky bird if it does.
someone who causes the death of a person or animal
From this reading TROUBLE COMES HOME TO THE BAD LITTLE OWLS Well, Killer waited, and waited, and waited.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading TROUBLE COMES HOME TO THE BAD LITTLE OWLS Well, Killer waited, and waited, and waited.
occurring by chance
From this reading Killer didn’t because only a bird can catch them when they’re awake, and it’s a mighty lucky bird if it does.
having or showing great strength or force or intensity
From this reading Killer didn’t because only a bird can catch them when they’re awake, and it’s a mighty lucky bird if it does.
no person; not anyone
From this reading But nobody came at all.
and nothing more
From this reading Killer didn’t because only a bird can catch them when they’re awake, and it’s a mighty lucky bird if it does.
plural of “owl” — nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes
From this reading TROUBLE COMES HOME TO THE BAD LITTLE OWLS Well, Killer waited, and waited, and waited.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading TROUBLE COMES HOME TO THE BAD LITTLE OWLS Well, Killer waited, and waited, and waited.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Killer didn’t because only a bird can catch them when they’re awake, and it’s a mighty lucky bird if it does.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Killer didn’t because only a bird can catch them when they’re awake, and it’s a mighty lucky bird if it does.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading TROUBLE COMES HOME TO THE BAD LITTLE OWLS Well, Killer waited, and waited, and waited.
a source of difficulty
From this reading TROUBLE COMES HOME TO THE BAD LITTLE OWLS Well, Killer waited, and waited, and waited.
except if; if not
From this reading Nobody unless you count the bats.
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading TROUBLE COMES HOME TO THE BAD LITTLE OWLS Well, Killer waited, and waited, and waited.
(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 TROUBLE COMES HOME TO THE BAD LITTLE OWLS Well, Killer waited, and waited, and waited.
at the time that
From this reading Killer didn’t because only a bird can catch them when they’re awake, and it’s a mighty lucky bird if it does.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Nobody unless you count the bats.
Chapter 9 of The Bad Little Owls by John Breck holds 147 sentences, grouped into 30 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 147 sentences of The Bad Little Owls, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Bad Little Owls by John Breck exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 147 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 The Bad Little Owls by John Breck on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Bad Little Owls section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Bad Little Owls 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 The Bad Little Owls, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
