Miracles on Maple Hill: Chapters 1–4

by Virginia Sorensen
Marly's family moves to the country to help her father, a World War II veteran, find peace and joy.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–8, Chapters 9–14
25 words 187 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. tramp
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    Marly saw their looks saying “why not?” and scrambled out for her own boots, using the tramped places Joe had made.
  2. rut
    a groove or furrow
    Now it was her turn to start out, to turn and wave from the little road, to follow the deep ruts.
  3. billowing
    characterized by great swelling waves or surges
    It had a high brown smokestack that the blue smoke was pouring from and an extra little roof that seemed to be sitting on great billowing white clouds of steam.
  4. flabbergasted
    as if struck dumb with astonishment and surprise
    Marly knew it was sad for Joe, but she couldn’t help being pleased by the flabbergasted look on his face.
  5. kindle
    cause to start burning
    “Lee, I sent our man Fritz over to kindle a fire. I thought going in there in the cold—” She looked at Mother with a frown that didn’t seem to suit her face at all.
  6. bustle
    move or cause to move energetically or busily
    She began bustling around the huge warm kitchen, which had a stove twice the size of an ordinary stove and a table ten feet long.
  7. dismay
    the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles
    Marly looked with dismay at the table being set.
  8. dilapidated
    in a state of decay, ruin, or deterioration
    “But it’s pretty—little and pretty,” Marly said quickly. And it was, in a way, though it looked awfully lonely in the vast countryside—and dilapidated, too.
  9. cunning
    showing inventiveness and skill
    There was a stove nearly as big as Chrissie’s, and water was steaming away in a cunning tub at the side which Mother said was called a “reservoir.”
  10. reservoir
    tank used for collecting and storing a liquid
    There was a stove nearly as big as Chrissie’s, and water was steaming away in a cunning tub at the side which Mother said was called a “reservoir.”
  11. prime
    fill with a liquid in order to make ready for use
    Nothing happened, and Mother said, “You have to pour some water in the top first, Joe, to prime it.”
  12. dingy
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
    In the top drawer Marly found dingy, blackened spoons and forks and knives.
  13. tick
    a light mattress
    A wonderful old feather tick was rolled up and wrapped in canvas and put away in a huge trunk.
  14. gully
    a deep ditch cut by running water
    There were sudden gullies, too, where you knew streams would flow when the snow melted, and in every direction were fringes of brown and green.
  15. brisk
    quick and energetic
    “Maybe they’re darling now,” Mother said briskly, “but they’re not living here anymore. We are.”
  16. buggy
    a small lightweight carriage
    “There’s an old buggy out there, Lee, in perfect condition,” Daddy said.
  17. plush
    a fabric with a nap that is longer and softer than velvet
    “There’s a sleigh, too. It’s still even got all its plush on,” Joe said.
  18. elaborate
    developed or executed with care and in minute detail
    Bravely and elaborately he gathered all the mice into his hands.
  19. amber
    of a medium to dark brownish yellow color
    Bubbles like amber jewels tumbled up and up and up, breaking and rising and breaking.
  20. soberly
    in a serious or subdued manner
    Then Mr. Chris said soberly, “Well, feeling like that won’t ever do her any harm.”
  21. spigot
    a regulator for controlling the flow of a liquid
    He turned a little spigot at the side of the pan, and the syrup began to run out into a big five-gallon can.
  22. reverent
    feeling or showing profound respect or veneration
    Marly carried her tin cup carefully, reverently, and set it in a bank of snow.
  23. sermon
    an address of a religious nature
    Everybody sat still as if they might be in church and Mr. Chris was giving the sermon.
  24. ballad
    a narrative song with a recurrent refrain
    “That old one about the fox, that ballad would be nice,” Mother said. “The children used to love that.”
  25. humble
    low or inferior in station or quality
    He just suddenly started to sing that old song that starts, “Be it ever so humble...”
Created on Mon Mar 11 11:54:08 EDT 2019 (updated Mon Mar 11 13:57:37 EDT 2019)

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