Chapter 31 of The Buckwheat is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of The Buckwheat is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Poetry!" exclaimed the learned man. "Yes, she lives as a hermit in great cities. Poetry! Well, I saw her once for a very short moment, while sleep weighed down my eyelids. She flashed upon me from the balcony like the radiant aurora borealis, surrounded with flowers like flames of fire.
Chapter 31 of The Buckwheat is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
the first light of day
From this reading “She flashed upon me from the balcony like the radiant aurora borealis, surrounded with flowers like flames of fire.”
an upper floor projecting from the rear over the main floor in an auditorium
From this reading “She flashed upon me from the balcony like the radiant aurora borealis, surrounded with flowers like flames of fire.”
plural of “city” — a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading “"Yes, she lives as a hermit in great cities.”
plural of “eyelid” — either of two folds of skin that can be moved to cover or open the eye
From this reading “Well, I saw her once for a very short moment, while sleep weighed down my eyelids.”
plural of “flame” — the process of combustion of inflammable materials producing heat and light and (often) smoke
From this reading “She flashed upon me from the balcony like the radiant aurora borealis, surrounded with flowers like flames of fire.”
one retired from society for religious reasons
From this reading “"Yes, she lives as a hermit in great cities.”
radiating or as if radiating light
From this reading “She flashed upon me from the balcony like the radiant aurora borealis, surrounded with flowers like flames of fire.”
past form of “weigh” — have a certain weight
From this reading “Well, I saw her once for a very short moment, while sleep weighed down my eyelids.”
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 "Yes, she lives as a hermit in great cities.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Yes, she lives as a hermit in great cities.
the first light of day
From this reading She flashed upon me from the balcony like the radiant aurora borealis, surrounded with flowers like flames of fire.
an upper floor projecting from the rear over the main floor in an auditorium
From this reading She flashed upon me from the balcony like the radiant aurora borealis, surrounded with flowers like flames of fire.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She flashed upon me from the balcony like the radiant aurora borealis, surrounded with flowers like flames of fire.
plural of “city” — a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading "Yes, she lives as a hermit in great cities.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Well, I saw her once for a very short moment, while sleep weighed down my eyelids.
past form of “exclaim” — utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
From this reading "Poetry!" exclaimed the learned man.
plural of “eyelid” — either of two folds of skin that can be moved to cover or open the eye
From this reading Well, I saw her once for a very short moment, while sleep weighed down my eyelids.
start firing a weapon
From this reading She flashed upon me from the balcony like the radiant aurora borealis, surrounded with flowers like flames of fire.
plural of “flame” — the process of combustion of inflammable materials producing heat and light and (often) smoke
From this reading She flashed upon me from the balcony like the radiant aurora borealis, surrounded with flowers like flames of fire.
past form of “flash” — gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading She flashed upon me from the balcony like the radiant aurora borealis, surrounded with flowers like flames of fire.
plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading She flashed upon me from the balcony like the radiant aurora borealis, surrounded with flowers like flames of fire.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Well, I saw her once for a very short moment, while sleep weighed down my eyelids.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading She flashed upon me from the balcony like the radiant aurora borealis, surrounded with flowers like flames of fire.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading "Yes, she lives as a hermit in great cities.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Well, I saw her once for a very short moment, while sleep weighed down my eyelids.
one retired from society for religious reasons
From this reading "Yes, she lives as a hermit in great cities.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Well, I saw her once for a very short moment, while sleep weighed down my eyelids.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Yes, she lives as a hermit in great cities.
having or showing profound knowledge
From this reading "Poetry!" exclaimed the learned man.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading She flashed upon me from the balcony like the radiant aurora borealis, surrounded with flowers like flames of fire.
plural of “life” — a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading "Yes, she lives as a hermit in great cities.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "Poetry!" exclaimed the learned man.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She flashed upon me from the balcony like the radiant aurora borealis, surrounded with flowers like flames of fire.
a particular point in time
From this reading Well, I saw her once for a very short moment, while sleep weighed down my eyelids.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Well, I saw her once for a very short moment, while sleep weighed down my eyelids.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She flashed upon me from the balcony like the radiant aurora borealis, surrounded with flowers like flames of fire.
on one occasion
From this reading Well, I saw her once for a very short moment, while sleep weighed down my eyelids.
literature in metrical form
From this reading "Poetry!" exclaimed the learned man.
radiating or as if radiating light
From this reading She flashed upon me from the balcony like the radiant aurora borealis, surrounded with flowers like flames of fire.
cut with a saw
From this reading Well, I saw her once for a very short moment, while sleep weighed down my eyelids.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Yes, she lives as a hermit in great cities.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading Well, I saw her once for a very short moment, while sleep weighed down my eyelids.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading Well, I saw her once for a very short moment, while sleep weighed down my eyelids.
confined on all sides
From this reading She flashed upon me from the balcony like the radiant aurora borealis, surrounded with flowers like flames of fire.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Poetry!" exclaimed the learned man.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading She flashed upon me from the balcony like the radiant aurora borealis, surrounded with flowers like flames of fire.
precisely as stated
From this reading Well, I saw her once for a very short moment, while sleep weighed down my eyelids.
past form of “weigh” — have a certain weight
From this reading Well, I saw her once for a very short moment, while sleep weighed down my eyelids.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Well, I saw her once for a very short moment, while sleep weighed down my eyelids.
during the time that
From this reading Well, I saw her once for a very short moment, while sleep weighed down my eyelids.
in the company of; together with
From this reading She flashed upon me from the balcony like the radiant aurora borealis, surrounded with flowers like flames of fire.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes, she lives as a hermit in great cities.
Chapter 31 of The Buckwheat by Hans Christian Andersen holds 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 31 holds 429 sentences of The Buckwheat, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of The Buckwheat by Hans Christian Andersen exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 31 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 The Buckwheat by Hans Christian Andersen on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Buckwheat section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Buckwheat 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 The Buckwheat, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
