Chapter 28 of Australian fairy tales is here in full — 82 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVIII
Chapter 28 of Australian fairy tales is here in full — 82 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BROWN EYES. Our friend Cocky was not given very much time to digest his breakfast. Dismounting from his steed the giant beckoned him forward, and thus addressed him: “You lazy imp! It would suit you very well to do nothing but eat my victuals and take a sleep afterwards, but you shall work. Listen!
Chapter 28 of Australian fairy tales is here in full — 82 sentences across 17 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/16 · 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.
(of mail) marked with a destination
From this reading “Dismounting from his steed the giant beckoned him forward, and thus addressed him: “You lazy imp!”
past form of “beckon” — signal with the hands or nod
From this reading “Dismounting from his steed the giant beckoned him forward, and thus addressed him: “You lazy imp!”
overly self-confident or self-assertive
From this reading “Our friend Cocky was not given very much time to digest his breakfast.”
convert food into absorbable substances
From this reading “Our friend Cocky was not given very much time to digest his breakfast.”
any creature of exceptional size
From this reading “Dismounting from his steed the giant beckoned him forward, and thus addressed him: “You lazy imp!”
(folklore) fairies that are somewhat mischievous
From this reading “Dismounting from his steed the giant beckoned him forward, and thus addressed him: “You lazy imp!”
moving slowly and gently
From this reading “Dismounting from his steed the giant beckoned him forward, and thus addressed him: “You lazy imp!”
(literary) a spirited horse for state of war
From this reading “Dismounting from his steed the giant beckoned him forward, and thus addressed him: “You lazy imp!”
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 “Dismounting from his steed the giant beckoned him forward, and thus addressed him: “You lazy imp!”
In this reading “BROWN EYES.”
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 It would suit you very well to do nothing but eat my victuals and take a sleep afterwards, but you shall work.
(of mail) marked with a destination
From this reading Dismounting from his steed the giant beckoned him forward, and thus addressed him: “You lazy imp!
happening at a time subsequent to a reference time
From this reading It would suit you very well to do nothing but eat my victuals and take a sleep afterwards, but you shall work.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Dismounting from his steed the giant beckoned him forward, and thus addressed him: “You lazy imp!
past form of “beckon” — signal with the hands or nod
From this reading Dismounting from his steed the giant beckoned him forward, and thus addressed him: “You lazy imp!
eat an early morning meal
From this reading Our friend Cocky was not given very much time to digest his breakfast.
an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading BROWN EYES.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading It would suit you very well to do nothing but eat my victuals and take a sleep afterwards, but you shall work.
overly self-confident or self-assertive
From this reading Our friend Cocky was not given very much time to digest his breakfast.
convert food into absorbable substances
From this reading Our friend Cocky was not given very much time to digest his breakfast.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dismounting from his steed the giant beckoned him forward, and thus addressed him: “You lazy imp!
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading It would suit you very well to do nothing but eat my victuals and take a sleep afterwards, but you shall work.
take in solid food
From this reading It would suit you very well to do nothing but eat my victuals and take a sleep afterwards, but you shall work.
opinion or judgment
From this reading BROWN EYES.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading Dismounting from his steed the giant beckoned him forward, and thus addressed him: “You lazy imp!
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading Our friend Cocky was not given very much time to digest his breakfast.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Dismounting from his steed the giant beckoned him forward, and thus addressed him: “You lazy imp!
any creature of exceptional size
From this reading Dismounting from his steed the giant beckoned him forward, and thus addressed him: “You lazy imp!
acknowledged as a supposition
From this reading Our friend Cocky was not given very much time to digest his breakfast.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Dismounting from his steed the giant beckoned him forward, and thus addressed him: “You lazy imp!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Our friend Cocky was not given very much time to digest his breakfast.
(folklore) fairies that are somewhat mischievous
From this reading Dismounting from his steed the giant beckoned him forward, and thus addressed him: “You lazy imp!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It would suit you very well to do nothing but eat my victuals and take a sleep afterwards, but you shall work.
moving slowly and gently
From this reading Dismounting from his steed the giant beckoned him forward, and thus addressed him: “You lazy imp!
hear with intention
From this reading Listen!
to a great degree or extent
From this reading Our friend Cocky was not given very much time to digest his breakfast.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading It would suit you very well to do nothing but eat my victuals and take a sleep afterwards, but you shall work.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Our friend Cocky was not given very much time to digest his breakfast.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading It would suit you very well to do nothing but eat my victuals and take a sleep afterwards, but you shall work.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Our friend Cocky was not given very much time to digest his breakfast.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading It would suit you very well to do nothing but eat my victuals and take a sleep afterwards, but you shall work.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading It would suit you very well to do nothing but eat my victuals and take a sleep afterwards, but you shall work.
(literary) a spirited horse for state of war
From this reading Dismounting from his steed the giant beckoned him forward, and thus addressed him: “You lazy imp!
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading It would suit you very well to do nothing but eat my victuals and take a sleep afterwards, but you shall work.
carry out
From this reading It would suit you very well to do nothing but eat my victuals and take a sleep afterwards, but you shall work.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Dismounting from his steed the giant beckoned him forward, and thus addressed him: “You lazy imp!
(used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result
From this reading Dismounting from his steed the giant beckoned him forward, and thus addressed him: “You lazy imp!
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Our friend Cocky was not given very much time to digest his breakfast.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Our friend Cocky was not given very much time to digest his breakfast.
precisely as stated
From this reading Our friend Cocky was not given very much time to digest his breakfast.
a stock or supply of foods
From this reading It would suit you very well to do nothing but eat my victuals and take a sleep afterwards, but you shall work.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Our friend Cocky was not given very much time to digest his breakfast.
(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 It would suit you very well to do nothing but eat my victuals and take a sleep afterwards, but you shall work.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading It would suit you very well to do nothing but eat my victuals and take a sleep afterwards, but you shall work.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading It would suit you very well to do nothing but eat my victuals and take a sleep afterwards, but you shall work.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Dismounting from his steed the giant beckoned him forward, and thus addressed him: “You lazy imp!
Chapter 28 of Australian fairy tales by Atha Westbury holds 82 sentences, grouped into 17 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 28 holds 82 sentences of Australian fairy tales, unabridged, divided into 17 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 28 of Australian fairy tales by Atha Westbury exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 82 sentences, grouped into 17 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 17 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 17 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 28 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.
