Learn English through classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
Under Two Flags
Under Two Flags

Chapter XXVIII · Chapter 28

Chapter 28 of Under Two Flags is here in full — 177 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for Under Two Flags
Context Illustration Reading 1/35 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE LEATHERN ZACKRIST.
With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.
Ah, bah! you deserve to be shot,” she said to herself afresh.
One would think you were a Silver Pheasant--you grow such a little fool!”
Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Under Two Flags

Chapter XXVIII · Chapter 28

Chapter 28 of Under Two Flags is here in full — 177 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/35 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THE LEATHERN ZACKRIST.
Line 2
With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.
/wɪð ðə ˈrevəliː ənd ðə breɪk ʌv ˈmɔːrnɪŋ ˌsɪɡərˈet woʊk hərˈself əˈɡen ʃiː ɡeɪv ə ˈlɪtəl ˈpetʃələnt ʃeɪk tuː hɜːr ˈferi fɔːrm wen ʃiː θɔːt ʌv wʌt ˈfɑːli ʃiː hæd bɪn ˈɡɪlti/
Line 3
Ah, bah! you deserve to be shot,” she said to herself afresh.
Line 4
One would think you were a Silver Pheasant--you grow such a little fool!”
Line 5
Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.

Learner Dictionary

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.

afresh adverb US /əˈfreʃ/

again but in a new or different way

From this reading ““Ah, bah! you deserve to be shot,” she said to herself afresh.”

chocolate noun US /ˈtʃɔːklət/

a beverage made from cocoa powder and milk and sugar; usually drunk hot

From this reading “Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.”

Cigarette's noun US /ˌsɪɡərˈets/

possessive form of “cigarette” — finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking

From this reading “Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.”

firework noun US /ˈfaɪrwɜːrk/

(usually plural) a device with an explosive that burns at a low rate and with colored flames; can be used to illuminate areas or send signals etc.

From this reading “Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.”

flavor noun US /ˈfleɪvər/

the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people

From this reading “Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.”

petulant adjective US /ˈpetʃələnt/

easily irritated or annoyed

From this reading “With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.”

Pheasant noun US /ˈfezənt/

large long-tailed gallinaceous bird native to the Old World but introduced elsewhere

From this reading ““One would think you were a Silver Pheasant--you grow such a little fool!””

reveille noun US /ˈrevəliː/

(military) signal to wake up

From this reading “With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.”

All words in this reading · 67

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

afreshadverbUS /əˈfreʃ/

again but in a new or different way

From this reading “Ah, bah! you deserve to be shot,” she said to herself afresh.

againadverbUS /əˈɡen/

anew

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

Ah

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “Ah, bah! you deserve to be shot,” she said to herself afresh.

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.

alwaysadverbUS /ˈɔːlweɪz/

at all times; all the time and on every occasion

From this reading Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

bagatellenoun

a light piece of music for piano

From this reading Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.

bah

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “Ah, bah! you deserve to be shot,” she said to herself afresh.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading “Ah, bah! you deserve to be shot,” she said to herself afresh.

beenauxiliary verbUS /bɪn/

the past participle of “be”

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

bonbonnoun

a candy that usually has a center of fondant or fruit or nuts coated in chocolate

From this reading Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.

breakverbUS /breɪk/

terminate

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

champagnenounUS /ʃæmˈpeɪn/

a white sparkling wine either produced in Champagne or resembling that produced there

From this reading Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.

chocolatenounUS /ˈtʃɔːklət/

a beverage made from cocoa powder and milk and sugar; usually drunk hot

From this reading Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.

CigarettenounUS /ˌsɪɡərˈet/

finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

Cigarette'snounUS /ˌsɪɡərˈets/

possessive form of “cigarette” — finely ground tobacco wrapped in paper; for smoking

From this reading Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.

deserveverbUS /dɪˈzɜːrv/

be worthy or deserving

From this reading “Ah, bah! you deserve to be shot,” she said to herself afresh.

draughtnounUS /dræft/

a serving of drink (usually alcoholic) drawn from a keg

From this reading Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.

fairynounUS /ˈferi/

a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

fireworknounUS /ˈfaɪrwɜːrk/

(usually plural) a device with an explosive that burns at a low rate and with colored flames; can be used to illuminate areas or send signals etc.

From this reading Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.

flavornounUS /ˈfleɪvər/

the general atmosphere of a place or situation and the effect that it has on people

From this reading Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.

follynounUS /ˈfɑːli/

the trait of acting stupidly or rashly

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

foolnounUS /fuːl/

a person who lacks good judgment

From this reading “One would think you were a Silver Pheasant--you grow such a little fool!”

formnounUS /fɔːrm/

the phonological or orthographic sound or appearance of a word that can be used to describe or identify something

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

gaveverbUS /ɡeɪv/

inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

growverbUS /ɡroʊ/

pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become

From this reading “One would think you were a Silver Pheasant--you grow such a little fool!”

guiltyadjectiveUS /ˈɡɪlti/

responsible for or chargeable with a reprehensible act

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

herselfpronounUS /hərˈself/

used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

idleadjectiveUS /ˈaɪdəl/

not in action or at work

From this reading Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.

LEATHERN

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading THE LEATHERN ZACKRIST.

littleadjectiveUS /ˈlɪtəl/

limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

LovenounUS /lʌv/

a strong positive emotion of regard and affection

From this reading Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.

momentnounUS /ˈmoʊmənt/

a particular point in time

From this reading Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.

morningnounUS /ˈmɔːrnɪŋ/

the time period between dawn and noon

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

OnepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading “One would think you were a Silver Pheasant--you grow such a little fool!”

petulantadjectiveUS /ˈpetʃələnt/

easily irritated or annoyed

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

PheasantnounUS /ˈfezənt/

large long-tailed gallinaceous bird native to the Old World but introduced elsewhere

From this reading “One would think you were a Silver Pheasant--you grow such a little fool!”

philosophynounUS /fɪˈlɑː.sə.fi/

The study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence. (Triết học, đạo lý nhân sinh.)

From this reading Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.

reckonedverbUS /ˈrekənd/

past form of “reckon” — expect, believe, or suppose

From this reading Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.

reveillenounUS /ˈrevəliː/

(military) signal to wake up

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading “Ah, bah! you deserve to be shot,” she said to herself afresh.

shakeverbUS /ʃeɪk/

move or cause to move back and forth

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

shotnounUS /ʃɑːt/

the act of firing a projectile

From this reading “Ah, bah! you deserve to be shot,” she said to herself afresh.

SilvernounUS /ˈsɪlvər/

a soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal; occurs in argentite and in free form; used in coins and jewelry and tableware and photography

From this reading “One would think you were a Silver Pheasant--you grow such a little fool!”

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.

suchdeterminerUS /sʌtʃ/

of the kind already mentioned

From this reading “One would think you were a Silver Pheasant--you grow such a little fool!”

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading THE LEATHERN ZACKRIST.

thinkverbUS /θɪŋk/

judge or regard; look upon; judge

From this reading “One would think you were a Silver Pheasant--you grow such a little fool!”

thoughtnounUS /θɔːt/

the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

veryadjectiveUS /ˈveri/

precisely as stated

From this reading Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.

welladverbUS /wel/

(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 Love was all very well, so Cigarette's philosophy had always reckoned; a chocolate bonbon, a firework, a bagatelle, a draught of champagne, to flavor an idle moment.

wereauxiliary verbUS /wɜːr/

the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading “One would think you were a Silver Pheasant--you grow such a little fool!”

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

WithprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

wokeverbUS /woʊk/

inflected form of “wake” — be awake, be alert, be there

From this reading With the reveille and the break of morning Cigarette woke, herself again; she gave a little petulant shake to her fairy form when she thought of what folly she had been guilty.

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

From this reading “One would think you were a Silver Pheasant--you grow such a little fool!”

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading “Ah, bah! you deserve to be shot,” she said to herself afresh.

ZACKRIST

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading THE LEATHERN ZACKRIST.

Chapter 28 of Under Two Flags by Ouida holds 177 sentences, grouped into 36 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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.

What does chapter 28 of Under Two Flags contain?

Chapter 28 holds 177 sentences of Under Two Flags, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 28 of Under Two Flags by Ouida exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 177 sentences, grouped into 36 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.

How do I study chapter 28 of Under Two Flags?

Work through the 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 36 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.

Can chapter 28 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 28 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.

Questions about reading Under Two Flags

Common questions about reading Under Two Flags by Ouida on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Under Two Flags?

Yes. All 9806 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3465 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Under Two Flags is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #3465, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Under Two Flags take to read?

About 600 minutes of reading across 1962 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Under Two Flags section by section

How to work through Under Two Flags section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 37 chapters of Under Two Flags to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Under Two Flags

Words and structures a reader meets early in Under Two Flags, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Beauty
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Under Two Flags; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Brigades
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Under Two Flags; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Don't
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Under Two Flags; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Difficult
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Under Two Flags; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.