Chapter 3 of Aunt Jane's Nieces is here in full — 94 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Aunt Jane's Nieces is here in full — 94 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
PATSY. "Now, Major, stand up straight and behave yourself! How do you expect me to sponge your vest when you're wriggling around in that way?" "Patsy, dear, you're so sweet this evening, I just had to kiss your lips." "Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.
Chapter 3 of Aunt Jane's Nieces is here in full — 94 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/18 · 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.
behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself
From this reading “"Now, Major, stand up straight and behave yourself!”
artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers
From this reading “"Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.”
slightly wet
From this reading “"Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.”
a person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of
From this reading “PATSY.”
made clean by scrubbing
From this reading “"Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.”
to a severe or serious degree
From this reading “"Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.”
wipe with a sponge, so as to clean or moisten
From this reading “How do you expect me to sponge your vest when you're wriggling around in that way?"”
provide with power and authority
From this reading “How do you expect me to sponge your vest when you're wriggling around in that way?"”
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 "Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.
anew
From this reading "Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Now, Major, stand up straight and behave yourself!
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading How do you expect me to sponge your vest when you're wriggling around in that way?"
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.
behave in a certain manner; show a certain behavior; conduct or comport oneself
From this reading "Now, Major, stand up straight and behave yourself!
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.
artifact made by weaving or felting or knitting or crocheting natural or synthetic fibers
From this reading "Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.
slightly wet
From this reading "Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.
dearly loved
From this reading "Patsy, dear, you're so sweet this evening, I just had to kiss your lips."
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading How do you expect me to sponge your vest when you're wriggling around in that way?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading "Patsy, dear, you're so sweet this evening, I just had to kiss your lips."
regard something as probable or likely
From this reading How do you expect me to sponge your vest when you're wriggling around in that way?"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading "Patsy, dear, you're so sweet this evening, I just had to kiss your lips."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How do you expect me to sponge your vest when you're wriggling around in that way?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Patsy, dear, you're so sweet this evening, I just had to kiss your lips."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading How do you expect me to sponge your vest when you're wriggling around in that way?"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.
and nothing more
From this reading "Patsy, dear, you're so sweet this evening, I just had to kiss your lips."
the act of caressing with the lips (or an instance thereof)
From this reading "Patsy, dear, you're so sweet this evening, I just had to kiss your lips."
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading "Patsy, dear, you're so sweet this evening, I just had to kiss your lips."
of greater importance or stature or rank
From this reading "Now, Major, stand up straight and behave yourself!
possessive form of “man” — an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading "Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading How do you expect me to sponge your vest when you're wriggling around in that way?"
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Now, Major, stand up straight and behave yourself!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.
a person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of
From this reading PATSY.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading "Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.
made clean by scrubbing
From this reading "Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.
to a severe or serious degree
From this reading "Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.
term of address for a man
From this reading "Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "Patsy, dear, you're so sweet this evening, I just had to kiss your lips."
wipe with a sponge, so as to clean or moisten
From this reading How do you expect me to sponge your vest when you're wriggling around in that way?"
be standing; be upright
From this reading "Now, Major, stand up straight and behave yourself!
successive (without a break)
From this reading "Now, Major, stand up straight and behave yourself!
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading "Patsy, dear, you're so sweet this evening, I just had to kiss your lips."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading How do you expect me to sponge your vest when you're wriggling around in that way?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading "Patsy, dear, you're so sweet this evening, I just had to kiss your lips."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading How do you expect me to sponge your vest when you're wriggling around in that way?"
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "Now, Major, stand up straight and behave yourself!
provide with power and authority
From this reading How do you expect me to sponge your vest when you're wriggling around in that way?"
a man's sleeveless garment worn underneath a coat
From this reading "Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading How do you expect me to sponge your vest when you're wriggling around in that way?"
at the time that
From this reading How do you expect me to sponge your vest when you're wriggling around in that way?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Don't do it again, sir," replied Patricia, severely, as she scrubbed the big man's waistcoat with a damp cloth.
moving in a twisting or snake-like or wormlike fashion
From this reading How do you expect me to sponge your vest when you're wriggling around in that way?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading How do you expect me to sponge your vest when you're wriggling around in that way?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How do you expect me to sponge your vest when you're wriggling around in that way?"
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading How do you expect me to sponge your vest when you're wriggling around in that way?"
used when the person spoken to is also the object of the action
From this reading "Now, Major, stand up straight and behave yourself!
Chapter 3 of Aunt Jane's Nieces by L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum holds 94 sentences, grouped into 19 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 3 holds 94 sentences of Aunt Jane's Nieces, unabridged, divided into 19 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Aunt Jane's Nieces by L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 94 sentences, grouped into 19 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 19 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 19 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 3 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 Aunt Jane's Nieces by L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3611 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10123 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #10123, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 300 minutes of reading across 723 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Aunt Jane's Nieces section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 29 chapters of Aunt Jane's Nieces 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 Aunt Jane's Nieces, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
