Wildoak: Prologue–Chapter 5

by C.C. Harrington
Facing challenges due to a stutter, eleven-year-old Margaret Stephens must find a way to use her voice to save herself and an injured snow leopard.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Prologue–Chapter 5, Chapters 6–12, Chapters 13–22, Chapters 23–37, Chapter 38–Epilogue
40 words 14 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. badger
    sturdy carnivorous burrowing mammal with strong claws
    Badgers huddled deep in their setts.
  2. tawny
    having the color of tanned leather
    A tawny owl swooped between the black-and-white branches, quiet as a ghost.
  3. gossamer
    characterized by unusual lightness and delicacy
    And deep beneath the layers of fresh white snow and rich brown earth, the ancient trees spoke to one another, through a tapestry of roots and veins no finer than a spool of gossamer thread.
  4. wisp
    a thin tuft, piece, or amount of something
    “This will do,” he said, his breath melting into wisps.
  5. keen
    having a sharp cutting edge or point
    Maggie pressed the tip of one finger against the point of her pencil. It was keen and sharp.
  6. rustling
    a light noise, like leaves blowing in the wind
    There was a pause, a shuffling of feet, the rustling of pages.
  7. stifled
    held in check or kept back with difficulty
    A stifled giggle. Somebody was laughing already and she hadn't even opened her mouth.
  8. scald
    burn with a hot liquid or steam
    Tears scalded her cheeks.
  9. grotesque
    distorted and unnatural in shape or size
    Unsteadily, she rose to her feet and held up her hand. The pencil protruded from it like a grotesque oversized splinter.
  10. cumbersome
    not elegant or graceful in expression
    Nurse Nora was a large, plump woman with small eyes, a navy-blue uniform, and starched white cap. She moved with a cumbersome gait from one side of the room to the other.
  11. gait
    a person's manner of walking
    She moved with a cumbersome gait from one side of the room to the other.
  12. scuff
    mar or wear away by rubbing or scraping
    Maggie stared at the toes of her shoes. She had not polished them, and they were scuffed and worn-looking.
  13. squelch
    make a sucking sound
    There was a faint squelching, and the pencil came loose, releasing a gush of blood.
  14. grimy
    thickly covered with ingrained dirt
    She stared at the grimy raindrops as they broke and trickled down the glass.
  15. gawky
    awkward and clumsy in movement or posture
    He sprang forward, leaping into the air, a rocket of fur, ready to knock his sister off the top of the ramp...but he missed...and came tumbling down on the other side of the pen in a heap of flailing limbs, too gawky to be graceful.
  16. prance
    move or step in a lively, spirited, or showy way
    The female cub pranced sideways and scaled one of the climbing poles, delighted by her narrow escape.
  17. dapple
    color with streaks or blotches of different shades
    She was lean and agile, and her body moved like a ripple of silver- dappled water.
  18. array
    an impressive display or assortment
    The cubs turned to face an array of human faces, noses and fingers poking through the wired front of their pen.
  19. titter
    laugh nervously
    But there was not enough space at the top for the two of them, and she swiftly batted him back down. The humans tittered and pointed.
  20. taut
    pulled or drawn tight
    She tapped her fingernails against the taut wire some more.
  21. daft
    foolish or mentally irregular
    "Do you think your sister would like a leopard? She has all those leopard-skin coats. What do you think?"
    "Don't be daft, dear. Her flat is tiny."
  22. intrigue
    cause to be interested or curious
    But the woman had moved on, intrigued by the armadillos for sale in the pen next door.
  23. lapel
    a fold of fabric below the collar of a coat or jacket
    “A snow leopard, sir," said the man, dusting off one of his jacket lapels.
  24. curt
    brief and to the point
    The assistant nodded, perhaps a little curtly.
  25. oblivious
    lacking conscious awareness of
    They had fallen asleep, oblivious to the thinning crowd of shoppers and the ending of the day.
  26. sprawl
    sit or lie with one's limbs spread out
    Rosie was on her back, her soft creamy underbelly sprawled sideways and thick, fluffy tail wrapped around her back legs like a blanket.
  27. shaft
    a column of light
    A sudden shaft of bright light flooded the pen, and both of them woke with a start.
  28. rafter
    one of several parallel sloping beams that support a roof
    The space was just big enough for her and lit with thin strips of natural light from the open rafters above.
  29. haphazardly
    in a random manner
    Four roly-poly woodlice sprang into action, crawling all over the place and then, haphazardly, into the palm of her hand.
  30. serene
    not agitated
    A large brown spider was hanging serenely from a web beneath one of the eaves.
  31. eaves
    the overhang at the lower edge of a roof
    A large brown spider was hanging serenely from a web beneath one of the eaves.
  32. tarmac
    a paved road or surface, especially at an airport
    The smell of the exhaust was overpowering. He struggled to detect much else. Humans. Tarmac. Smog. There was plenty of noise: other engines, horns, wheels turning, traffic.
  33. parcel
    a wrapped package
    He showed me the box of food parcels, told me all about it, and yes...proper walks.
  34. beckon
    signal with the hands or nod
    She kept talking as she beckoned him toward the kitchen.
  35. warily
    in a manner marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
    Rumpus followed her warily, his long, fluffy tail swaying from side to side.
  36. scrabble
    grope, scratch, or feel searchingly
    Rumpus paced impatiently back and forth beside the cabinets, the tips of his claws scrabbling against the tiles.
  37. morsel
    a small amount of solid food; a mouthful
    Instinctively he looked around to see if Rosie had finished hers and whether or not he might be able to steal a few morsels.
  38. gingham
    a woven cotton fabric, typically with a checked pattern
    Mrs. Stephens hurried in, wiping her hands on her gingham apron.
  39. reluctantly
    with a certain degree of unwillingness
    Reluctantly, she scooped him up and laid him back inside the open shoebox.
  40. trundle
    move slowly or heavily
    But she couldn't bring herself to sound it out, so she stayed there, knees bent, watching the roly-polies trundle along the sideboard, with Flute on her shoulder and Wellington in her lap.
Created on Mon Jun 05 12:14:29 EDT 2023 (updated Fri Jun 16 16:23:23 EDT 2023)

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