Chapter 11

a type of scythe with slats that pile grain neatly when reaping (harvesting)

A cradle was a sharp steel blade fastened to a framework of wooden slats...

moist or wet (in this case, from dew formed overnight)

...lying on the dewy ground all night...

a group of sheaves of grain placed upright to allow it to dry

Every stalk of the cut grain must always be safely in the shock before dark...

a thin, narrow piece of wood

A cradle was a sharp steel blade fastened to a framework of wooden slats...

one stem of a plant

...held the stalks of grain when the blade cut them.

stone used for sharpening cutting tools

He could fetch the whetstone when the blades needed sharpening.