The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, Vocabulary List Chapters 13-15

a gulf so deep or space so great that it cannot be measured

They stood, the three mice, two with hoods and one without, and contemplated the abyss before them.

suffering or being subjected to constant or repeated trouble or harassment

Despereaux felt his beleaguered heart start up a crazy rhythm of fear.

having hard and thick skin : having calluses

When Despereaux awoke, he was cupped in the large callused hand of a human and he was staring into the fire of one match and beyond the match there was a large, dark eye looking directly at him.

to look at with careful and thoughtful attention

They stood, the three mice, two with hoods and one without, and contemplated the abyss before them.

to think of (someone or something) in a particular way

He deemed it the only reasonable response to the situation in which he found himself.

something a person feels he or she ought to do because it is morally right

I love somebody and it is my duty to save her.

to cover or surround : ENCIRCLE

Despereaux had never before encountered darkness so awful, so all encompassing.

a period of time that seems endless

For centuries, for eons. For eternities.

to pay attention in order to hear

"Hark you, I will show you the twisted results of love."

something that is suggested

But the mouse didn't have long to consider its implications, because he was suddenly pushed from behind by the hooded mice.

a result opposite to what was expected

You are talking to Gregory the jailer, who, in the richest of ironies, is nothing but a prisoner here himself.

easily made angry or annoyed

"What?" said the first hood irritably.

existing in a form that can be touched or seen

The darkness had a physical presence as if it were a being all its own.

to bring to a usually worse state

And it was in this way that Despereaux became the only mouse sent to the dungeon whom the rats did not reduce to a pile of bones and a piece of red thread.

to make explosive popping sounds

And the match was held to a candle and the candle sputtered to life and Despereaux saw that there was a rope tied around the man's ankle.

not safe because of hidden dangers

Here, in this dungeon, you are in the treacherous dark heart of the world.