Chapter 4 of A Horse's Tale is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of A Horse's Tale is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“‘_Go_!’ she shouts to me—and I went.” “Fast?” “Don’t ask foolish questions. It was an awful pace. For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’
Chapter 4 of A Horse's Tale is here in full — 208 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading “It was an awful pace.”
apart from; not including
From this reading “For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’”
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading ““Fast?””
devoid of good sense or judgment
From this reading ““Don’t ask foolish questions.”
the rate of moving (especially walking or running)
From this reading “It was an awful pace.”
plural of “question” — an instance of questioning
From this reading ““Don’t ask foolish questions.”
plural of “shout” — a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition
From this reading ““‘_Go_!’ she shouts to me—and I went.””
a person loved by another person
From this reading “For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading It was an awful pace.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “‘_Go_!’ she shouts to me—and I went.”
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “Don’t ask foolish questions.
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading It was an awful pace.
a youthful male person
From this reading For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Don’t ask foolish questions.
apart from; not including
From this reading For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading “Fast?”
devoid of good sense or judgment
From this reading “Don’t ask foolish questions.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “‘_Go_!’ she shouts to me—and I went.”
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “‘_Go_!’ she shouts to me—and I went.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was an awful pace.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “‘_Go_!’ she shouts to me—and I went.”
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’
not one thing; not anything
From this reading For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’
the rate of moving (especially walking or running)
From this reading It was an awful pace.
plural of “question” — an instance of questioning
From this reading “Don’t ask foolish questions.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’
except for; apart from
From this reading For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “‘_Go_!’ she shouts to me—and I went.”
plural of “shout” — a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition
From this reading “‘_Go_!’ she shouts to me—and I went.”
a person loved by another person
From this reading For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “‘_Go_!’ she shouts to me—and I went.”
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was an awful pace.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading “‘_Go_!’ she shouts to me—and I went.”
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading For four hours nothing happened, and not a word said, except that now and then she said, ‘Keep it up, Boy, keep it up, sweetheart; we’ll save him!’
Chapter 4 of A Horse's Tale by Mark Twain holds 208 sentences, grouped into 42 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 4 holds 208 sentences of A Horse's Tale, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of A Horse's Tale by Mark Twain exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 208 sentences, grouped into 42 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 42 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 4 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading A Horse's Tale by Mark Twain on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1004 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1086 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1086, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 83 minutes of reading across 201 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Horse's Tale section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of A Horse's Tale to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in A Horse's Tale, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
