Chapter 1 of Bébée is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Bébée is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Bébée sprang out of bed at daybreak. She was sixteen. It seemed a very wonderful thing to be as much as that--sixteen--a woman quite. A cock was crowing under her lattice. He said how old you are!--how old you are! every time that he sounded his clarion.
Chapter 1 of Bébée is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
blow the clarion
From this reading “He said how old you are!--how old you are! every time that he sounded his clarion.”
tilt or slant to one side
From this reading “A cock was crowing under her lattice.”
an instance of boastful talk
From this reading “A cock was crowing under her lattice.”
the first light of day
From this reading “Bébée sprang out of bed at daybreak.”
an arrangement of points or particles or objects in a regular periodic pattern in 2 or 3 dimensions
From this reading “A cock was crowing under her lattice.”
being one more than fifteen
From this reading “She was sixteen.”
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading “He said how old you are!--how old you are! every time that he sounded his clarion.”
inflected form of “spring” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading “Bébée sprang out of bed at daybreak.”
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 seemed a very wonderful thing to be as much as that--sixteen--a woman quite.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading He said how old you are!--how old you are! every time that he sounded his clarion.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It seemed a very wonderful thing to be as much as that--sixteen--a woman quite.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Bébée sprang out of bed at daybreak.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It seemed a very wonderful thing to be as much as that--sixteen--a woman quite.
a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep
From this reading Bébée sprang out of bed at daybreak.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bébée sprang out of bed at daybreak.
blow the clarion
From this reading He said how old you are!--how old you are! every time that he sounded his clarion.
tilt or slant to one side
From this reading A cock was crowing under her lattice.
an instance of boastful talk
From this reading A cock was crowing under her lattice.
the first light of day
From this reading Bébée sprang out of bed at daybreak.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading He said how old you are!--how old you are! every time that he sounded his clarion.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He said how old you are!--how old you are! every time that he sounded his clarion.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading A cock was crowing under her lattice.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He said how old you are!--how old you are! every time that he sounded his clarion.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He said how old you are!--how old you are! every time that he sounded his clarion.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It seemed a very wonderful thing to be as much as that--sixteen--a woman quite.
an arrangement of points or particles or objects in a regular periodic pattern in 2 or 3 dimensions
From this reading A cock was crowing under her lattice.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading It seemed a very wonderful thing to be as much as that--sixteen--a woman quite.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Bébée sprang out of bed at daybreak.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading He said how old you are!--how old you are! every time that he sounded his clarion.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Bébée sprang out of bed at daybreak.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading It seemed a very wonderful thing to be as much as that--sixteen--a woman quite.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading He said how old you are!--how old you are! every time that he sounded his clarion.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading It seemed a very wonderful thing to be as much as that--sixteen--a woman quite.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was sixteen.
being one more than fifteen
From this reading She was sixteen.
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading He said how old you are!--how old you are! every time that he sounded his clarion.
inflected form of “spring” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading Bébée sprang out of bed at daybreak.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It seemed a very wonderful thing to be as much as that--sixteen--a woman quite.
a special situation
From this reading It seemed a very wonderful thing to be as much as that--sixteen--a woman quite.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading He said how old you are!--how old you are! every time that he sounded his clarion.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It seemed a very wonderful thing to be as much as that--sixteen--a woman quite.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading A cock was crowing under her lattice.
precisely as stated
From this reading It seemed a very wonderful thing to be as much as that--sixteen--a woman quite.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was sixteen.
an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading It seemed a very wonderful thing to be as much as that--sixteen--a woman quite.
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading It seemed a very wonderful thing to be as much as that--sixteen--a woman quite.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading He said how old you are!--how old you are! every time that he sounded his clarion.
Chapter 1 of Bébée by Ouida holds 134 sentences, grouped into 27 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 1 holds 134 sentences of Bébée, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Bébée by Ouida exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 134 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 1 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 Bébée by Ouida on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2443 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #13912 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #13912, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 203 minutes of reading across 489 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Bébée section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of Bébée 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 Bébée, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
