Chapter 20 of Aunt Kitty's Tales is here in full — 16 sentences across 4 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Aunt Kitty's Tales is here in full — 16 sentences across 4 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AUNT KITTY'S GREETING. Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year." The snow, which then spread a veil over all things, has long since melted away. The spring flowers which succeeded it have withered. The summer and autumn fruits have been gathered.
Chapter 20 of Aunt Kitty's Tales is here in full — 16 sentences across 4 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/3 · 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 season when the leaves fall from the trees
From this reading “The summer and autumn fruits have been gathered.”
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading “Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year."”
plural of “fruit” — the ripened reproductive body of a seed plant
From this reading “The summer and autumn fruits have been gathered.”
(usually plural) an acknowledgment or expression of good will (especially on meeting)
From this reading “AUNT KITTY'S GREETING.”
the combined stakes of the betters
From this reading “AUNT KITTY'S GREETING.”
changed from a solid to a liquid state
From this reading “The snow, which then spread a veil over all things, has long since melted away.”
a garment that covers the head and face
From this reading “The snow, which then spread a veil over all things, has long since melted away.”
lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness
From this reading “The spring flowers which succeeded it have withered.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “The spring flowers which succeeded it have withered.”
In this reading “Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year."”
In this reading “The snow, which then spread a veil over all things, has long since melted away.”
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 Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year."
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading The snow, which then spread a veil over all things, has long since melted away.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The summer and autumn fruits have been gathered.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading AUNT KITTY'S GREETING.
the season when the leaves fall from the trees
From this reading The summer and autumn fruits have been gathered.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading The snow, which then spread a veil over all things, has long since melted away.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The summer and autumn fruits have been gathered.
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year."
dearly loved
From this reading Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year."
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year."
plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading The spring flowers which succeeded it have withered.
plural of “friend” — a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year."
plural of “fruit” — the ripened reproductive body of a seed plant
From this reading The summer and autumn fruits have been gathered.
brought together in one place
From this reading The summer and autumn fruits have been gathered.
(usually plural) an acknowledgment or expression of good will (especially on meeting)
From this reading AUNT KITTY'S GREETING.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year."
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The spring flowers which succeeded it have withered.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The spring flowers which succeeded it have withered.
the combined stakes of the betters
From this reading Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUNT KITTY'S GREETING.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading The snow, which then spread a veil over all things, has long since melted away.
changed from a solid to a liquid state
From this reading The snow, which then spread a veil over all things, has long since melted away.
full of or showing high-spirited merriment
From this reading Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year."
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year."
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year."
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year."
above and across; more than
From this reading The snow, which then spread a veil over all things, has long since melted away.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year."
from a time in the past until now
From this reading Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year."
precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading The snow, which then spread a veil over all things, has long since melted away.
distribute or disperse widely
From this reading The snow, which then spread a veil over all things, has long since melted away.
the season of growth
From this reading The spring flowers which succeeded it have withered.
past form of “succeed” — attain success or reach a desired goal
From this reading The spring flowers which succeeded it have withered.
the warmest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox
From this reading The summer and autumn fruits have been gathered.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The snow, which then spread a veil over all things, has long since melted away.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading The snow, which then spread a veil over all things, has long since melted away.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading The snow, which then spread a veil over all things, has long since melted away.
a garment that covers the head and face
From this reading The snow, which then spread a veil over all things, has long since melted away.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading The snow, which then spread a veil over all things, has long since melted away.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year."
lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness
From this reading The spring flowers which succeeded it have withered.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year."
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Nearly a year has passed, my dear young friends, since first Aunt Kitty met you with a "Merry Christmas or Happy New-Year."
Chapter 20 of Aunt Kitty's Tales by Maria J. (Maria Jane) McIntosh holds 16 sentences, grouped into 4 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 20 holds 16 sentences of Aunt Kitty's Tales, unabridged, divided into 4 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Aunt Kitty's Tales by Maria J. (Maria Jane) McIntosh exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 16 sentences, grouped into 4 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 4 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 4 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 20 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 Kitty's Tales by Maria J. (Maria Jane) McIntosh on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4055 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42837 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #42837, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 337 minutes of reading across 811 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Aunt Kitty's Tales section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Aunt Kitty's Tales 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 Kitty's Tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
