The Elephant Girl: Chapter 52–Epilogue

by James Patterson, Ellen Banda-Aaku
Unwilling to fit into the expectations of her village in Kenya, twelve-year-old Jama Anyango sneaks off to spend time with elephants that need protection from poachers.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 14, Chapters 15–30, Chapters 31–51, Chapter 52–Epilogue
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. development
    a recent event that has relevance for the present situation
    Since she never missed a thing that happened in our village, I asked if she could keep her ears open to what was going on. If she learned about any more suspicious developments, it might lead us to the proof we needed.
  2. regalia
    especially fine or decorative clothing
    Solo Mungu in his camouflage regalia and dark glasses took up all the space in the small room.
  3. hospitality
    kindness in welcoming guests or strangers
    “Take a seat," Solo Mungu said, as though it was his place to offer hospitality.
  4. intently
    with strained or eager attention
    He was watching me intently, lips curled.
  5. guffaw
    laugh boisterously
    He guffawed, showing his big white teeth.
  6. paltry
    contemptibly small in amount or size
    She said it wasn't really a market because it was very small, but in comparison to the paltry stalls back home, it was enormous and filled with so much to see.
  7. farfetched
    highly imaginative but unlikely
    "Well, not him, but maybe one of his men." It sounded farfetched when I said it out loud.
  8. novelty
    originality by virtue of being refreshingly new
    Seeing so many pale faces was still a novelty, and I stopped to stare.
  9. ware
    commodities offered for sale
    The vendors formed a tight circle around the tourists and held out their wares.
  10. jostle
    make one's way by pushing or shoving
    They jostled one another as they shouted out prices and spoke at the same time:
    "Good price. This one, fifty shillings. Okay, forty-five."
    "Madam, this one buy, just forty. Special price for you."
  11. veranda
    a porch along the outside of a building
    I passed a small veranda where a woman was braiding the hair of a little girl who wailed loudly.
  12. bearing
    the direction or path along which something moves or lies
    I looked around, trying to get my bearings, and realized I'd ended up in a narrow alleyway dotted with garbage and boxes.
  13. utter
    complete
    The fear and panic gave way first to surprise and then relief and then to utter joy.
  14. snare
    a trap for birds or small mammals; often has a slip noose
    From the way the wound was torn, I could tell the elephant had struggled to free himself, and the more he struggled the tighter the wire gripped him, which was exactly how the snare was supposed to work.
  15. cheeky
    offensively bold
    As I massaged the clay into his leg, I told our new arrival a story about a cheeky and playful elephant called Mbegu who he would soon get to meet.
  16. ginger
    having a bright orange-brown color
    He was stocky, with ginger hair and a small scar on his face.
  17. formidable
    extremely impressive in strength or excellence
    "That Mungu guy had such a formidable reputation as an effective ranger, only hard evidence will put him away. Even after the poachers implicated him, no one believed them. It was the poachers' word against Mungu, so you can guess who everyone believed."
  18. attune
    adjust or accustom to; bring into harmony with
    Now, I was more attuned to nature's timing: the sun's place in the sky, the fullness of the moon, the rainy and dry seasons.
  19. torrential
    relating to or resulting from the action of a downpour
    I'd come to the Trust before the rainy season started, and the months now melted away into the sludgy gray of torrential rains.
  20. sullen
    showing a brooding ill humor
    And part of me is certain that they would approve of Leku, the sullen bully who grew up into the kind of boy who quoted poems in his letters.
  21. bout
    a period of illness
    Leku's move to Magadi ended up getting delayed because his mother got sick—a bad bout of malaria—and he stayed to take care of his sisters.
  22. patter
    rain gently
    It wasn't even the rainy season yet, but the rain poured out of the slate-colored sky with a continuous pattering that usually meant it was going to last the whole day.
  23. suede
    leather with a napped surface
    By the time I got halfway down the driveway, the secondhand suede pumps I'd bought with Hasana yesterday would turn brown and soggy.
  24. assume
    take to be the case or to be true
    My eyes scanned over and around bodies searching for a square head I assumed would stand above the rest.
  25. strut
    walk in a proud, confident way
    Dafina looked at me with the same pride I felt inside as I strutted in my new jacket, all smiles.
  26. reintegrate
    incorporate, combine, or unify again
    And there was another bittersweet duty: releasing elephants back into the wild. The first time we took an elephant out to reintegrate, I had only been at the Trust a few months.
  27. tender
    hurting
    Time had healed me, but the scars were still tender.
  28. backfire
    return with an undesired effect
    "I'm sorry," I apologized to Nathan, who looked embarrassed because his joke had backfired.
  29. bate
    moderate or restrain; lessen the force of
    My heart skipped a beat as Mbegu craned her neck to look up at Luna, waiting with bated breath for what would happen next.
  30. emaciated
    very thin, especially from disease or hunger or cold
    She had been brought in two weeks earlier after being found abandoned in the jungle, starving to death. She was emaciated, more bone than flesh.
  31. swaggering
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    One look at the swaggering gait and big, compassionate eyes and I knew it was her.
  32. gait
    an animal's manner of moving
    One look at the swaggering gait and big, compassionate eyes and I knew it was her.
  33. flank
    be located at the sides of something or somebody
    Mbegu's babies flanked on either side.
  34. incredulous
    not disposed or willing to believe; unbelieving
    I watched their faces change from alarmed to incredulous to ecstatic in a few quick seconds.
  35. ecstatic
    feeling great rapture or delight
    I watched their faces change from alarmed to incredulous to ecstatic in a few quick seconds.
    "Well, look who it is!" Nathan exclaimed. "I told you she'd be back!"
Created on Thu Feb 22 09:29:08 EST 2024 (updated Thu Feb 22 16:05:45 EST 2024)

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