Chapter 1 of A Village Stradivarius is here in full — 147 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of A Village Stradivarius is here in full — 147 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THIS STORY APPEARS IN ‘THE VILLAGE WATCHTOWER.’ “Goodfellow, Puck and goblins, Know more than any book. Down with your doleful problems, And court the sunny brook. The south-winds are quick-witted, The schools are sad and slow, The masters quite omitted The lore we care to know.” EMERSON’S _April_.
Chapter 1 of A Village Stradivarius is here in full — 147 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
filled with or evoking sadness
From this reading “Down with your doleful problems, And court the sunny brook.”
possessive form of “emerson” — United States writer and leading exponent of transcendentalism (1803-1882)
plural of “goblin” — (folklore) a small grotesque supernatural creature that makes trouble for human beings
From this reading ““Goodfellow, Puck and goblins, Know more than any book.”
knowledge gained through tradition or anecdote
From this reading “The south-winds are quick-witted, The schools are sad and slow, The masters quite omitted The lore we care to know.””
inflected form of “omit” — prevent from being included or considered or accepted
From this reading “The south-winds are quick-witted, The schools are sad and slow, The masters quite omitted The lore we care to know.””
plural of “problem” — a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
From this reading “Down with your doleful problems, And court the sunny brook.”
a mischievous sprite of English folklore
From this reading ““Goodfellow, Puck and goblins, Know more than any book.”
plural of “school” — an educational institution
From this reading “The south-winds are quick-witted, The schools are sad and slow, The masters quite omitted The lore we care to know.””
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Goodfellow, Puck and goblins, Know more than any book.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading “Goodfellow, Puck and goblins, Know more than any book.
third-person singular of “appear” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading THIS STORY APPEARS IN ‘THE VILLAGE WATCHTOWER.’
the month following March and preceding May
From this reading EMERSON’S _April_.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The south-winds are quick-witted, The schools are sad and slow, The masters quite omitted The lore we care to know.”
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading “Goodfellow, Puck and goblins, Know more than any book.
a natural stream of water smaller than a river (and often a tributary of a river)
From this reading Down with your doleful problems, And court the sunny brook.
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading The south-winds are quick-witted, The schools are sad and slow, The masters quite omitted The lore we care to know.”
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading Down with your doleful problems, And court the sunny brook.
filled with or evoking sadness
From this reading Down with your doleful problems, And court the sunny brook.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Down with your doleful problems, And court the sunny brook.
possessive form of “emerson” — United States writer and leading exponent of transcendentalism (1803-1882)
From this reading EMERSON’S _April_.
plural of “goblin” — (folklore) a small grotesque supernatural creature that makes trouble for human beings
From this reading “Goodfellow, Puck and goblins, Know more than any book.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Goodfellow, Puck and goblins, Know more than any book.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading THIS STORY APPEARS IN ‘THE VILLAGE WATCHTOWER.’
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “Goodfellow, Puck and goblins, Know more than any book.
knowledge gained through tradition or anecdote
From this reading The south-winds are quick-witted, The schools are sad and slow, The masters quite omitted The lore we care to know.”
United States poet (1869-1950)
From this reading The south-winds are quick-witted, The schools are sad and slow, The masters quite omitted The lore we care to know.”
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading “Goodfellow, Puck and goblins, Know more than any book.
inflected form of “omit” — prevent from being included or considered or accepted
From this reading The south-winds are quick-witted, The schools are sad and slow, The masters quite omitted The lore we care to know.”
plural of “problem” — a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
From this reading Down with your doleful problems, And court the sunny brook.
a mischievous sprite of English folklore
From this reading “Goodfellow, Puck and goblins, Know more than any book.
mentally nimble and resourceful
From this reading The south-winds are quick-witted, The schools are sad and slow, The masters quite omitted The lore we care to know.”
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading The south-winds are quick-witted, The schools are sad and slow, The masters quite omitted The lore we care to know.”
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading The south-winds are quick-witted, The schools are sad and slow, The masters quite omitted The lore we care to know.”
plural of “school” — an educational institution
From this reading The south-winds are quick-witted, The schools are sad and slow, The masters quite omitted The lore we care to know.”
not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time
From this reading The south-winds are quick-witted, The schools are sad and slow, The masters quite omitted The lore we care to know.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The south-winds are quick-witted, The schools are sad and slow, The masters quite omitted The lore we care to know.”
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading THIS STORY APPEARS IN ‘THE VILLAGE WATCHTOWER.’
bright and pleasant; promoting a feeling of cheer
From this reading Down with your doleful problems, And court the sunny brook.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading “Goodfellow, Puck and goblins, Know more than any book.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THIS STORY APPEARS IN ‘THE VILLAGE WATCHTOWER.’
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading THIS STORY APPEARS IN ‘THE VILLAGE WATCHTOWER.’
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The south-winds are quick-witted, The schools are sad and slow, The masters quite omitted The lore we care to know.”
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading THIS STORY APPEARS IN ‘THE VILLAGE WATCHTOWER.’
an observation tower for a lookout to watch over prisoners or watch for fires or enemies
From this reading THIS STORY APPEARS IN ‘THE VILLAGE WATCHTOWER.’
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading The south-winds are quick-witted, The schools are sad and slow, The masters quite omitted The lore we care to know.”
in the company of; together with
From this reading Down with your doleful problems, And court the sunny brook.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Down with your doleful problems, And court the sunny brook.
Chapter 1 of A Village Stradivarius by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin holds 147 sentences, grouped into 30 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, 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 1 holds 147 sentences of A Village Stradivarius, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of A Village Stradivarius by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 147 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 1 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 Village Stradivarius by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 607 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3148 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3148, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 50 minutes of reading across 122 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Village Stradivarius section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of A Village Stradivarius 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 Village Stradivarius, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
