Chapter IX of The Jay Bird Who Went Tame, “Mrs. Tabitha Puss-Cat’s Secret,” is here in full — 109 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IX
Chapter IX of The Jay Bird Who Went Tame, “Mrs. Tabitha Puss-Cat’s Secret,” is here in full — 109 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come! Quick, quick! Come!” And what do you suppose they’d found? An oil-can that fell off the mowing machine and got raked up in the hay.
Chapter IX of The Jay Bird Who Went Tame, “Mrs. Tabitha Puss-Cat’s Secret,” is here in full — 109 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/21 · 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.
an outlying farm building for storing grain or animal feed and housing farm animals
From this reading “In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!”
lively and spirited
From this reading “In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!”
grass mowed and cured for use as fodder
From this reading “An oil-can that fell off the mowing machine and got raked up in the hay.”
plural of “kitten” — young domestic cat
From this reading “In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!”
the time between one event, process, or period and another
From this reading “In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!”
-ing form of “mow” — cut with a blade or mower
From this reading “An oil-can that fell off the mowing machine and got raked up in the hay.”
past form of “rake” — move through with or as if with a rake
From this reading “An oil-can that fell off the mowing machine and got raked up in the hay.”
V-shaped sleeve badge indicating military rank and service
From this reading “In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!”
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.
during the intervening time
In this reading “In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!”
bring to light
In this reading “An oil-can that fell off the mowing machine and got raked up in the hay.”
In this reading “In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!”
In this reading “An oil-can that fell off the mowing machine and got raked up in the hay.”
In this reading “In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!”
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.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading An oil-can that fell off the mowing machine and got raked up in the hay.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And what do you suppose they’d found?
an outlying farm building for storing grain or animal feed and housing farm animals
From this reading In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!
the particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!
lively and spirited
From this reading In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading And what do you suppose they’d found?
a member of the genus Canis (probably descended from the common wolf) that has been domesticated by man since prehistoric times; occurs in many breeds
From this reading In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading An oil-can that fell off the mowing machine and got raked up in the hay.
set up or found
From this reading And what do you suppose they’d found?
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading An oil-can that fell off the mowing machine and got raked up in the hay.
grass mowed and cured for use as fodder
From this reading An oil-can that fell off the mowing machine and got raked up in the hay.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!
plural of “kitten” — young domestic cat
From this reading In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!
any mechanical or electrical device that transmits or modifies energy to perform or assist in the performance of human tasks
From this reading An oil-can that fell off the mowing machine and got raked up in the hay.
the time between one event, process, or period and another
From this reading In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!
-ing form of “mow” — cut with a blade or mower
From this reading An oil-can that fell off the mowing machine and got raked up in the hay.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading An oil-can that fell off the mowing machine and got raked up in the hay.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading An oil-can that fell off the mowing machine and got raked up in the hay.
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading Quick, quick!
past form of “rake” — move through with or as if with a rake
From this reading An oil-can that fell off the mowing machine and got raked up in the hay.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!
V-shaped sleeve badge indicating military rank and service
From this reading In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!
express a supposition
From this reading And what do you suppose they’d found?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading An oil-can that fell off the mowing machine and got raked up in the hay.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And what do you suppose they’d found?
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!
look attentively
From this reading In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!
used to ask for information about something
From this reading And what do you suppose they’d found?
during the time that
From this reading In the meantime, while Watch the Dog was busy in the barn, Stripes Skunk’s kittens came dashing up calling, “Come!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading And what do you suppose they’d found?
Chapter 9 of The Jay Bird Who Went Tame by John Breck holds 109 sentences, grouped into 22 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 109 sentences of The Jay Bird Who Went Tame, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Jay Bird Who Went Tame by John Breck exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 109 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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 Jay Bird Who Went Tame by John Breck on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1197 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #64586 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #64586, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 99 minutes of reading across 240 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Jay Bird Who Went Tame section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Jay Bird Who Went Tame 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 Jay Bird Who Went Tame, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
