Chapter 20 of Australian fairy tales is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Australian fairy tales is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE JOURNEY. Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city. Mount behind me on the broad wings of this carrier-bird, which most men have, yet which no mortal hath ever seen! Sit close and fear not, for our pillion is soft and easy, the steed safe. Now mount and away!
Chapter 20 of Australian fairy tales is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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.
covered with a layer of dust
From this reading “Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city.”
subject to death
From this reading “Mount behind me on the broad wings of this carrier-bird, which most men have, yet which no mortal hath ever seen!”
attach to a support
From this reading “Mount behind me on the broad wings of this carrier-bird, which most men have, yet which no mortal hath ever seen!”
a seat behind the rider of a horse or motorbike etc.
From this reading “Sit close and fear not, for our pillion is soft and easy, the steed safe.”
(literary) a spirited horse for state of war
From this reading “Sit close and fear not, for our pillion is soft and easy, the steed safe.”
abounding in rocks or stones
From this reading “Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city.”
plural of “thoroughfare” — a public road from one place to another
From this reading “Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city.”
a means of flight or ascent
From this reading “Mount behind me on the broad wings of this carrier-bird, which most men have, yet which no mortal hath ever seen!”
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 “Mount behind me on the broad wings of this carrier-bird, which most men have, yet which no mortal hath ever seen!”
In this reading “Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city.”
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.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Now mount and away!
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Mount behind me on the broad wings of this carrier-bird, which most men have, yet which no mortal hath ever seen!
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading Mount behind me on the broad wings of this carrier-bird, which most men have, yet which no mortal hath ever seen!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mount behind me on the broad wings of this carrier-bird, which most men have, yet which no mortal hath ever seen!
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading Sit close and fear not, for our pillion is soft and easy, the steed safe.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city.
covered with a layer of dust
From this reading Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city.
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading Sit close and fear not, for our pillion is soft and easy, the steed safe.
at any time
From this reading Mount behind me on the broad wings of this carrier-bird, which most men have, yet which no mortal hath ever seen!
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading Sit close and fear not, for our pillion is soft and easy, the steed safe.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city.
an old form of “has”
From this reading Mount behind me on the broad wings of this carrier-bird, which most men have, yet which no mortal hath ever seen!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Mount behind me on the broad wings of this carrier-bird, which most men have, yet which no mortal hath ever seen!
used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
From this reading Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Sit close and fear not, for our pillion is soft and easy, the steed safe.
undertake a journey or trip
From this reading THE JOURNEY.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city.
the force of workers available
From this reading Mount behind me on the broad wings of this carrier-bird, which most men have, yet which no mortal hath ever seen!
subject to death
From this reading Mount behind me on the broad wings of this carrier-bird, which most men have, yet which no mortal hath ever seen!
used to form the superlative
From this reading Mount behind me on the broad wings of this carrier-bird, which most men have, yet which no mortal hath ever seen!
attach to a support
From this reading Mount behind me on the broad wings of this carrier-bird, which most men have, yet which no mortal hath ever seen!
not any; not one
From this reading Mount behind me on the broad wings of this carrier-bird, which most men have, yet which no mortal hath ever seen!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Sit close and fear not, for our pillion is soft and easy, the steed safe.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now mount and away!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Mount behind me on the broad wings of this carrier-bird, which most men have, yet which no mortal hath ever seen!
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Sit close and fear not, for our pillion is soft and easy, the steed safe.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city.
a seat behind the rider of a horse or motorbike etc.
From this reading Sit close and fear not, for our pillion is soft and easy, the steed safe.
free from danger or the risk of harm
From this reading Sit close and fear not, for our pillion is soft and easy, the steed safe.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Mount behind me on the broad wings of this carrier-bird, which most men have, yet which no mortal hath ever seen!
be seated
From this reading Sit close and fear not, for our pillion is soft and easy, the steed safe.
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading Sit close and fear not, for our pillion is soft and easy, the steed safe.
(literary) a spirited horse for state of war
From this reading Sit close and fear not, for our pillion is soft and easy, the steed safe.
abounding in rocks or stones
From this reading Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE JOURNEY.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city.
plural of “thoroughfare” — a public road from one place to another
From this reading Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Mount behind me on the broad wings of this carrier-bird, which most men have, yet which no mortal hath ever seen!
a means of flight or ascent
From this reading Mount behind me on the broad wings of this carrier-bird, which most men have, yet which no mortal hath ever seen!
in the company of; together with
From this reading Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Come with me for an hour, out of the hard, stony by-ways and hot, dusty thoroughfares of this work-a-day city.
but in spite of that
From this reading Mount behind me on the broad wings of this carrier-bird, which most men have, yet which no mortal hath ever seen!
Chapter 20 of Australian fairy tales by Atha Westbury holds 77 sentences, grouped into 16 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 77 sentences of Australian fairy tales, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Australian fairy tales by Atha Westbury exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 77 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 Australian fairy tales by Atha Westbury on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3806 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #68225 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #68225, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 317 minutes of reading across 762 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Australian fairy tales section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of Australian fairy 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 Australian fairy tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
