A Convict's Tale

Pre-Reading

Starving! - when you are very hungry
Refugees: a person who flees for refuge or safety, esp. to a foreign country, as in time of political trouble, war, etc.
Convict: a person found guilty of a crime and serving a sentence in prison
Grateful: expressing gratitude

Chapter 1

Nightmare: a frightening or terrifying dream that produces feelings of great fear and anxiety.
Sewer: an artificial passage, usually underground, for carrying off waste water and refuse
Maid: a female servant
Butler: the chief male servant of a household
Tears filled her eyes: she was crying
Court: a place where legal justice is administered
Rings: a circular line or mark
Proud: feeling pleasure or satisfaction over something thought of as bringing credit or honor to oneself

Chapter 2

Nappy: a diaper.
Don't get any foolish ideas in your head
Mud: wet, soft earth or earthy matter, as on the ground after rain, at the bottom of a pond, or along the banks of a river;
mire.
From head to toe
Housekeeper: a person, often hired, who does or directs the domestic work and planning necessary for a home, as cleaning or buying food.
Dye: a coloring material or matter
Starch: a white, tasteless chemical substance in plants, forming an important component of rice, corn, wheat, and many other vegetable foods
Drag: to be pulled along; to move heavily or slowly and with great effort

Chapter 3

Tablecloth: a cloth for covering the top of a table
Buns: a round bread roll, plain or sweetened
Tray: a flat, shallow container, used for carrying or displaying articles
Icing: a sweet mixture of sugar, butter, and flavoring, used as a coating on cakes, cookies, etc.; frosting Moughts watered Grab: to seize suddenly, eagerly, or roughly;snatch
Overcrowd: to cause to have too many people in (a room, building, etc.);crowd or fill too much
Were accused of minor theft
Hemp: the tough fiber of this plant
logs: a portion or length of the trunk or of a large limb of a tree that has fallen.
I'll never leave you

Chapter 4

Advice: an opinion or recommendation offered as a guide to action.
Straw: a single stalk or stem, esp. of a cereal grass
Scar: a mark left by a healed wound
Cheek: either side of the face below the eye and above the jaw
Lay awake- don't sleep
Relief: a feeling of comfort or ease caused by the ending or stopping of pain or distress
Trust: reliance on the goodness, strength, or ability of a person or thing;confidence

Chapter 5

Deck: a floorlike surface taking up one level of a hull of a vessel
Can it get any worse?
Drown: to die from being put under wáter
Sickness: a particular disease or malady
Gave her a black eye

Yard: the ground that is immediately next to, or that surrounds, a house, public building, etc

Fence: a barrier enclosing or surrounding a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood.

Chapter 6

Qualified: having the qualities, accomplishments, skills, knowledge, or credentials one needs for a job, function, position, office...

Temper: a state of mind or feelings;habit of mind;

Bruises: to injure by striking or pressing, without breaking the skin but causing a discolored spot to develop