"I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade" by Diane Lee Wilson, Chapters 19–24

To her granddaughter, Oyuna of the Kerait tribe tells of how her younger self, despite being crippled by a horse, pursued her dream of racing across the Mongolian steppes.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: "Outside Hangchou China—AD 1339"–Chapter 5, Chapters 6–11, Chapters 12–18, Chapters 19–24, Chapters 25–30
40 words 5 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. somberly
    in a serious and solemn manner
    “Come, Oyuna,” she said somberly. “I have something to tell you.”
  2. blanch
    turn pale, as if in fear
    Fear blanched Genma’s fat face, for now I threatened her with bad luck as well as a weapon.
  3. brandish
    exhibit aggressively
    Brandishing my knife, I ordered the wide-eyed Delger to step from his horse and hobble it.
  4. earnestly
    in a sincere and serious manner
    He was grinning at me and grunting, earnestly trying to tell me something.
  5. waft
    be driven or carried along, as by the air
    Not a dozen breaths later, a familiar whinny wafted through the air.
  6. hinder
    be an obstacle to
    Newly leafing bushes stretched their green branches across my face as if to further hinder my search.
  7. haunch
    the upper part of the leg of an animal, often used for food
    The gray, snorting and scrambling in alarm, was sliding on his haunches into a mud-slickened gorge.
  8. coarse
    rough to the touch
    I practically tumbled out of the saddle in my eagerness to reach her; I ran my hands down her fine legs, slender as a gazelle’s, to unfasten the coarse hobbles, then quickly untied her head and threw my arms around her fuzzy neck.
  9. sodden
    wet through and through; thoroughly wet
    And then the heavens split open, drenching us in a pounding rain. Bator gave up his games to crawl, sodden and shivering, into my lap.
  10. murky
    dark or gloomy
    The path ahead, if there was one, swam in darkness. For all I knew we were climbing straight into the murky otherworld of the dead.
  11. amble
    walk leisurely
    Bayan immediately ambled away, head to the ground, searching for grasses.
  12. chasm
    a deep opening in the earth's surface
    When you walk next to a great chasm all the time, you dare not look down—only look to the sky with laughter.
  13. outcropping
    part of a rock formation that juts above surrounding land
    But when her front hoof clattered upon the shale outcropping leading up to the cave, she halted.
  14. grim
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    Chin upon my hands, I thought grimly how I, a dull human lacking basic, animal senses, had passed one whole night practically nose to nose with death. It was my turn to shudder.
  15. fervently
    with strong emotion or zeal
    I fervently prayed to the mountain’s spirit for protection.
  16. crude
    not carefully or expertly made
    Pushing at the ground, dragging the crude crutch at my side, I began backing away from the obo.
  17. hull
    dry outer covering of a fruit or seed or nut
    A wet ring of hulls suggested an offering of grain, long since scattered by wind and birds.
  18. desolate
    having few or no inhabitants
    And I began to think about the old person who had died in that desolate cave, alone and helpless.
  19. sear
    burn slightly and superficially so as to affect color
    Even before my next step I recognized the shoulder blades of a sheep, seared so that the fire’s maker could look into the future.
  20. mesmerizing
    attracting and holding interest as if by a spell
    Even without Echenkorlo’s mesmerizing words I was briefly held captive.
  21. unyielding
    resistant to physical force or pressure
    At first I placed my grandmother upon her back, as was proper, but after fighting unsuccessfully with her rigid, outstretched arm, I rolled her onto one side, so that she slept with her head resting upon the unyielding limb.
  22. obscure
    make unclear, indistinct, or blurred
    During one of the many trips I made between the cart and the cave, and in the muddy area where I had first found my grandmother, I noticed a handprint, though my careless footprints had nearly obscured it.
  23. oblong
    deviating from a shape by being elongated in one direction
    I dug my nails into the wet earth and forced myself to study the third drawing: an oblong shape patterned very much like the Khan’s paiza I had left behind.
  24. makeshift
    done or made using whatever is available
    The sun was already sliding past its highest point and I was sweating lightly, even in the cold mountain air, when I wedged the last small stone into the makeshift wall.
  25. saunter
    walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
    This time when she sniffed the air she seemed satisfied and sauntered toward the oxcart.
  26. idly
    in a lazy, casual, or aimless way
    Idly curious, I paused to stoop over them a last time, boldly attempting to understand the webwork as Echenkorlo and Udbal had done.
  27. gingerly
    in a manner marked by extreme care or delicacy
    Gingerly carrying the shoulder blades to the back of the cave, I set them against the slanting wall.
  28. chide
    scold or reprimand severely or angrily
    “You should stay within your ger with a husband,” the fathers scolded. “Or at least with your family,” the women chided.
  29. dwindle
    become smaller or lose substance
    The grasses dwindled to a few gray-green weeds choking between cracked plates of baked earth.
  30. gait
    the rate of moving, especially walking or running
    Although the ground stretched flatly ahead of us, inviting speed, I could not cross it any faster than if it had been mountains, for the injuries I had suffered were still healing. Any gait more than a walk remained unbearably painful.
  31. attune
    adjust or accustom to; bring into harmony with
    Luckily, before long, my eyes grew well attuned to spotting wild camels and kulans from afar and following them—at a safe distance, for this was springtime and the bulls and stallions were territorial—to watering holes.
  32. invariably
    without change, in every case
    Little more than muddy ponds, they grew thick with yellow rushes and rippled with the splashes of wading birds and black-headed ducks. Invariably the water was warm and lay stale upon the tongue, yet the three of us bent our heads and drank gratefully.
  33. addled
    confused and vague; used especially of thinking
    Blindly I stared upward, head throbbing, my addled brain screaming at my body to do something, do something!
  34. career
    move headlong at high speed
    Then, like a spirit careering out of the afterlife, the white body of a horse crashed through the silty fog and came to a halt at my side.
  35. billow
    rise and move, as in waves
    The land’s dangers tested our courage one dusky evening when a thick fog crept silently behind us, then billowed past, hiding the narrow path.
  36. fare
    the food and drink regularly served or consumed
    My eyes, and those of Bayan, too, I think, looked upon the rich green grasses as heavenly fare for horses.
  37. frond
    compound leaf of a fern or palm or cycad
    Terrified, Bator leaped from the saddle and hid among the drooping fronds of a creek-side tree.
  38. waver
    move hesitatingly, as if about to give way
    In the wavering motion of ill health, she bent over to drag several bags from behind her into the dirt outside the doorway.
  39. indifferent
    showing no care or concern in attitude or action
    People from both directions were indifferently lifting their heels from the land and walking confidently upon these slabs suspended high above the river.
  40. torrent
    a violently fast stream of water or other liquid
    In an instant, soldiers—all dressed in black and riding black horses—swept around us like a torrent of rushing water, crowding Bayan tightly.
Created on Mon Apr 17 14:44:13 EDT 2023 (updated Tue Apr 18 17:54:31 EDT 2023)

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