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dawn
the first light of day
It is curiously silent, too, with blank white
dawns and glaring noons, and sunsets smeared with too much color.
-
patience
good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence
At noontime, Winnie Foster, whose family owned the Treegap wood, lost her
patience at last and decided to think about running away.
-
wander
move or cause to move in a sinuous or circular course
...if they never
wandered in among the trees, well, that was their affair.
-
meadow
a field where grass or alfalfa are grown to be made into hay
...and then cut sidewise across a
meadow.
-
abruptly
quickly and without warning
It became, instead, and rather
abruptly, the property of people.
-
property
something owned
It became, instead, and rather abruptly, the
property of people.
-
appearance
outward or visible aspect of a person or thing
On the left stood the first house, a square and solid cottage with a touch-me-not
appearance...
-
gallows
an instrument from which a person is executed by hanging
But the village doesn’t matter, except for the jailhouse and the
gallows.
-
disturb
destroy the peace or tranquility of
This, at least, is what the cows must have thought: “Let it keep its peace; we won’t
disturb it.”
-
accessible
capable of being reached
...was therefore private property in spite of the fact that it lay outside the fence and was perfectly
accessible.
-
trespass
enter unlawfully on someone's property
Or does ownership consist only of a thin crust under which the friendly worms have never heard of
trespassing?
-
curious
eager to investigate and learn or learn more
But she had never been
curious about it.
-
conceal
prevent from being seen or discovered
...they’d have noticed the little spring bubbling up among its roots in spite of the pebbles piled there to
conceal it.
-
disaster
an act that has calamitous consequences
And that would have been a
disaster so immense...
-
immense
unusually great in size or amount or extent or scope
And that would have been a disaster so
immense...
-
vanish
decrease rapidly and disappear
Tuck twitched and the smile
vanished.
-
cease
put an end to a state or an activity
She knew very well what she would see in it; her reflection had long since
ceased to interest her.
-
squat
sit on one's heels
...Winnie Foster sat on the bristly grass just inside the fence and said to the large toad who was
squatting a few yards away...
-
cross
annoyed and irritable
She had come out to the fence, very
cross...
-
intrusion
entrance by force or without permission or welcome
The gnats were too frantic to notice these
intrusions...
-
thrust
make a forceful forward movement
“Look here, toad,” she said,
thrusting her arms through the bars of the fence and plucking at the weeds on the other side.
-
peer
look searchingly
She paused and
peered anxiously at the toad to see how it would receive this staggering idea, but it showed no signs of interest.
-
twilight
the time of day immediately following sunset
Indeed, he seemed almost to hang suspended there in the
twilight.
-
seize
take hold of; grab
And she
seized Winnie’s hand and turned to go back into the cottage.
-
eager
having or showing keen interest or intense desire
He had stiffened, and his voice was
eager.
-
coward
a person who shows fear or timidity
What if he should laugh at her secretly and think she was a
coward?
-
bold
fearless and daring
She did not allow herself to consider the idea that making a difference in the world might require a
bolder venture.
-
venture
an undertaking with an uncertain outcome
She did not allow herself to consider the idea that making a difference in the world might require a bolder
venture.
-
glorious
having great beauty and splendor
And he seemed so
glorious to Winnie that she lost her heart at once.
-
scarcely
almost not
As Winnie watched,
scarcely breathing, he moved the pile carefully to one side, pebble by pebble.
-
protest
utter words of objection
“I didn’t mean to watch you,” she
protested as she stepped into the clearing.
-
solemnly
in a grave and sedate manner
"I’m one hundred and four years old,” he told her
solemnly.