Chapter 8 of The Desert Fiddler is here in full — 61 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Desert Fiddler is here in full — 61 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The next morning at breakfast Noah Ezekiel remarked: "I wonder where that skunk got the money." "What skunk and what money?" Bob was pouring sirup on a pancake, a product of much patience both on his part and the Chinese cook's. "Jenkins."
Chapter 8 of The Desert Fiddler is here in full — 61 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/12 · 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.
any of the Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in China; regarded as dialects of a single language (even though they are mutually unintelligible) because they share an ideographic writing system
From this reading “Bob was pouring sirup on a pancake, a product of much patience both on his part and the Chinese cook's.”
possessive form of “cook” — someone who cooks food
From this reading “Bob was pouring sirup on a pancake, a product of much patience both on his part and the Chinese cook's.”
a Hebrew prophet of the 6th century BC who was exiled to Babylon in 587 BC
From this reading “The next morning at breakfast Noah Ezekiel remarked:”
the Hebrew patriarch who saved himself and his family and the animals by building an ark in which they survived 40 days and 40 nights of rain; the story of Noah and the flood is told in the Book of Genesis
From this reading “The next morning at breakfast Noah Ezekiel remarked:”
a flat cake of thin batter fried on both sides on a griddle
From this reading “Bob was pouring sirup on a pancake, a product of much patience both on his part and the Chinese cook's.”
flowing profusely
From this reading “Bob was pouring sirup on a pancake, a product of much patience both on his part and the Chinese cook's.”
commodities offered for sale
From this reading “Bob was pouring sirup on a pancake, a product of much patience both on his part and the Chinese cook's.”
a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible
From this reading “"I wonder where that skunk got the money."”
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 Bob was pouring sirup on a pancake, a product of much patience both on his part and the Chinese cook's.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "What skunk and what money?"
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The next morning at breakfast Noah Ezekiel remarked:
move up and down repeatedly
From this reading Bob was pouring sirup on a pancake, a product of much patience both on his part and the Chinese cook's.
the two together, not just one
From this reading Bob was pouring sirup on a pancake, a product of much patience both on his part and the Chinese cook's.
eat an early morning meal
From this reading The next morning at breakfast Noah Ezekiel remarked:
any of the Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in China; regarded as dialects of a single language (even though they are mutually unintelligible) because they share an ideographic writing system
From this reading Bob was pouring sirup on a pancake, a product of much patience both on his part and the Chinese cook's.
possessive form of “cook” — someone who cooks food
From this reading Bob was pouring sirup on a pancake, a product of much patience both on his part and the Chinese cook's.
a Hebrew prophet of the 6th century BC who was exiled to Babylon in 587 BC
From this reading The next morning at breakfast Noah Ezekiel remarked:
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading "I wonder where that skunk got the money."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Bob was pouring sirup on a pancake, a product of much patience both on his part and the Chinese cook's.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I wonder where that skunk got the money."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Jenkins."
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading "I wonder where that skunk got the money."
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading The next morning at breakfast Noah Ezekiel remarked:
to a great degree or extent
From this reading Bob was pouring sirup on a pancake, a product of much patience both on his part and the Chinese cook's.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading The next morning at breakfast Noah Ezekiel remarked:
the Hebrew patriarch who saved himself and his family and the animals by building an ark in which they survived 40 days and 40 nights of rain; the story of Noah and the flood is told in the Book of Genesis
From this reading The next morning at breakfast Noah Ezekiel remarked:
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Bob was pouring sirup on a pancake, a product of much patience both on his part and the Chinese cook's.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Bob was pouring sirup on a pancake, a product of much patience both on his part and the Chinese cook's.
a flat cake of thin batter fried on both sides on a griddle
From this reading Bob was pouring sirup on a pancake, a product of much patience both on his part and the Chinese cook's.
something determined in relation to something that includes it
From this reading Bob was pouring sirup on a pancake, a product of much patience both on his part and the Chinese cook's.
good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence
From this reading Bob was pouring sirup on a pancake, a product of much patience both on his part and the Chinese cook's.
flowing profusely
From this reading Bob was pouring sirup on a pancake, a product of much patience both on his part and the Chinese cook's.
commodities offered for sale
From this reading Bob was pouring sirup on a pancake, a product of much patience both on his part and the Chinese cook's.
past form of “remark” — make mention of
From this reading The next morning at breakfast Noah Ezekiel remarked:
a thick sweet sticky liquid
From this reading Bob was pouring sirup on a pancake, a product of much patience both on his part and the Chinese cook's.
a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible
From this reading "I wonder where that skunk got the money."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "I wonder where that skunk got the money."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The next morning at breakfast Noah Ezekiel remarked:
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Bob was pouring sirup on a pancake, a product of much patience both on his part and the Chinese cook's.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "What skunk and what money?"
in or at the place that
From this reading "I wonder where that skunk got the money."
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading "I wonder where that skunk got the money."
Chapter 8 of The Desert Fiddler by William H. (William Henry) Hamby holds 61 sentences, grouped into 13 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 8 holds 61 sentences of The Desert Fiddler, unabridged, divided into 13 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Desert Fiddler by William H. (William Henry) Hamby exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 61 sentences, grouped into 13 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 13 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 13 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 8 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 Desert Fiddler by William H. (William Henry) Hamby on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3016 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #25960 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #25960, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 251 minutes of reading across 604 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Desert Fiddler section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 30 chapters of The Desert Fiddler 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 Desert Fiddler, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
