Chapter 3 of The Sheriff of Badger is here in full — 267 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Sheriff of Badger is here in full — 267 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CONCERNING A BABY'S WAIL He was gripping both her hands and she had not moved. Her lips were open, but she seemed powerless to speak. A loud thump startled the pair. A shrill wail from the bedroom and Mrs. Floyd sprang up. The baby had fallen from the bed and was now engaged in howling himself purple in the face.
Chapter 3 of The Sheriff of Badger is here in full — 267 sentences across 54 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/53 · 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.
possessive form of “baby” — a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading “CONCERNING A BABY'S WAIL He was gripping both her hands and she had not moved.”
a room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading “A shrill wail from the bedroom and Mrs. Floyd sprang up.”
capable of arousing and holding the attention
From this reading “CONCERNING A BABY'S WAIL He was gripping both her hands and she had not moved.”
a long loud emotional utterance
From this reading “The baby had fallen from the bed and was now engaged in howling himself purple in the face.”
lacking power
From this reading “Her lips were open, but she seemed powerless to speak.”
having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones
From this reading “A shrill wail from the bedroom and Mrs. Floyd sprang up.”
move rhythmically
From this reading “A loud thump startled the pair.”
emit long loud cries
From this reading “CONCERNING A BABY'S WAIL He was gripping both her hands and she had not moved.”
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.
come into existence; take on form or shape
In this reading “A shrill wail from the bedroom and Mrs. Floyd sprang up.”
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 CONCERNING A BABY'S WAIL He was gripping both her hands and she had not moved.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading CONCERNING A BABY'S WAIL He was gripping both her hands and she had not moved.
a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading The baby had fallen from the bed and was now engaged in howling himself purple in the face.
possessive form of “baby” — a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading CONCERNING A BABY'S WAIL He was gripping both her hands and she had not moved.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading The baby had fallen from the bed and was now engaged in howling himself purple in the face.
a room used primarily for sleeping
From this reading A shrill wail from the bedroom and Mrs. Floyd sprang up.
the two together, not just one
From this reading CONCERNING A BABY'S WAIL He was gripping both her hands and she had not moved.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Her lips were open, but she seemed powerless to speak.
-ing form of “concern” — be relevant to
From this reading CONCERNING A BABY'S WAIL He was gripping both her hands and she had not moved.
having ones attention or mind or energy engaged
From this reading The baby had fallen from the bed and was now engaged in howling himself purple in the face.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading The baby had fallen from the bed and was now engaged in howling himself purple in the face.
having dropped by the force of gravity
From this reading The baby had fallen from the bed and was now engaged in howling himself purple in the face.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A shrill wail from the bedroom and Mrs. Floyd sprang up.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading A shrill wail from the bedroom and Mrs. Floyd sprang up.
capable of arousing and holding the attention
From this reading CONCERNING A BABY'S WAIL He was gripping both her hands and she had not moved.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading CONCERNING A BABY'S WAIL He was gripping both her hands and she had not moved.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading CONCERNING A BABY'S WAIL He was gripping both her hands and she had not moved.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading CONCERNING A BABY'S WAIL He was gripping both her hands and she had not moved.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading CONCERNING A BABY'S WAIL He was gripping both her hands and she had not moved.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading The baby had fallen from the bed and was now engaged in howling himself purple in the face.
a long loud emotional utterance
From this reading The baby had fallen from the bed and was now engaged in howling himself purple in the face.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The baby had fallen from the bed and was now engaged in howling himself purple in the face.
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading Her lips were open, but she seemed powerless to speak.
characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity
From this reading A loud thump startled the pair.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading CONCERNING A BABY'S WAIL He was gripping both her hands and she had not moved.
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading A shrill wail from the bedroom and Mrs. Floyd sprang up.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading CONCERNING A BABY'S WAIL He was gripping both her hands and she had not moved.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading The baby had fallen from the bed and was now engaged in howling himself purple in the face.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading Her lips were open, but she seemed powerless to speak.
a set of two similar things considered as a unit
From this reading A loud thump startled the pair.
lacking power
From this reading Her lips were open, but she seemed powerless to speak.
a purple color or pigment
From this reading The baby had fallen from the bed and was now engaged in howling himself purple in the face.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Her lips were open, but she seemed powerless to speak.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading CONCERNING A BABY'S WAIL He was gripping both her hands and she had not moved.
having or emitting a high-pitched and sharp tone or tones
From this reading A shrill wail from the bedroom and Mrs. Floyd sprang up.
express in speech
From this reading Her lips were open, but she seemed powerless to speak.
inflected form of “spring” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading A shrill wail from the bedroom and Mrs. Floyd sprang up.
excited by sudden surprise or alarm and making a quick involuntary movement
From this reading A loud thump startled the pair.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A loud thump startled the pair.
move rhythmically
From this reading A loud thump startled the pair.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Her lips were open, but she seemed powerless to speak.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading A shrill wail from the bedroom and Mrs. Floyd sprang up.
emit long loud cries
From this reading CONCERNING A BABY'S WAIL He was gripping both her hands and she had not moved.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading CONCERNING A BABY'S WAIL He was gripping both her hands and she had not moved.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Her lips were open, but she seemed powerless to speak.
Chapter 3 of The Sheriff of Badger by George Pattullo holds 267 sentences, grouped into 54 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 3 holds 267 sentences of The Sheriff of Badger, unabridged, divided into 54 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Sheriff of Badger by George Pattullo exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 267 sentences, grouped into 54 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 54 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 54 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 3 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 Sheriff of Badger by George Pattullo on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5660 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34281 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34281, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 471 minutes of reading across 1132 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Sheriff of Badger section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of The Sheriff of Badger 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 Sheriff of Badger, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
