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Boys and Girls Bookshelf
Boys and Girls Bookshelf

Chapter IX · Chapter 9

Chapter 9 of Boys and Girls Bookshelf is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Various • Curated US English Learning Edition
Cover illustration for Boys and Girls Bookshelf
Context Illustration Reading 1/80 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.
"Wink!" said the mother; "I wink," said the one: So she winked and she blinked In the sand, in the sun.
Over in the meadow, Where the stream runs blue, Lived an old mother fish And her little fishes two.
"Swim!" said the mother; "We swim," said the two: So they swam and they leaped Where the stream runs blue.
Over in the meadow, In a hole in a tree, Lived a mother bluebird And her little birdies three.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Boys and Girls Bookshelf

Chapter IX · Chapter 9

Chapter 9 of Boys and Girls Bookshelf is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/80 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.
Line 2
"Wink!" said the mother; "I wink," said the one: So she winked and she blinked In the sand, in the sun.
/wɪŋk sed ðə ˈmʌðər aɪ wɪŋk sed ðə wʌn soʊ ʃiː wɪŋkt ənd ʃiː blɪŋkt ɪn ðə sænd ɪn ðə sʌn/
Line 3
Over in the meadow, Where the stream runs blue, Lived an old mother fish And her little fishes two.
/ˈoʊvər ɪn ðə ˈmedoʊ wer ðə striːm rʌnz bluː lɪvd æn oʊld ˈmʌðər fɪʃ ənd hɜːr ˈlɪtəl ˈfɪʃəz tuː/
Line 4
"Swim!" said the mother; "We swim," said the two: So they swam and they leaped Where the stream runs blue.
/swɪm sed ðə ˈmʌðər wiː swɪm sed ðə tuː soʊ ðeɪ swæm ənd ðeɪ lept wer ðə striːm rʌnz bluː/
Line 5
Over in the meadow, In a hole in a tree, Lived a mother bluebird And her little birdies three.
/ˈoʊvər ɪn ðə ˈmedoʊ ɪn ə hoʊl ɪn ə triː lɪvd ə ˈmʌðər ˈbluːbɜːrd ənd hɜːr ˈlɪtəl ˈbɜːrdiz θriː/

Learner Dictionary

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.

birdies noun US /ˈbɜːrdiz/

plural of “birdie” — (golf) a score of one stroke under par on a hole

From this reading “Over in the meadow, In a hole in a tree, Lived a mother bluebird And her little birdies three.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
blinked verb US /blɪŋkt/

past form of “blink” — briefly shut the eyes

From this reading “"Wink!" said the mother; "I wink," said the one: So she winked and she blinked In the sand, in the sun.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
bluebird noun US /ˈbluːbɜːrd/

fruit-eating mostly brilliant blue songbird of the East Indies

From this reading “Over in the meadow, In a hole in a tree, Lived a mother bluebird And her little birdies three.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
fishes noun US /ˈfɪʃəz/

plural of “fish” — any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills

From this reading “Over in the meadow, Where the stream runs blue, Lived an old mother fish And her little fishes two.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
olive adjective US /ˈɑːləv/

of a yellow-green color similar to that of an unripe olive

From this reading “BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
toad noun US /toʊd/

any of various tailless stout-bodied amphibians with long hind limbs for leaping; semiaquatic and terrestrial species

From this reading “BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
wink verb US /wɪŋk/

signal by winking

From this reading “"Wink!" said the mother; "I wink," said the one: So she winked and she blinked In the sand, in the sun.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
winked verb US /wɪŋkt/

past form of “wink” — signal by winking

From this reading “"Wink!" said the mother; "I wink," said the one: So she winked and she blinked In the sand, in the sun.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

All words in this reading · 44

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.

AdeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
AndconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
birdiesnounUS /ˈbɜːrdiz/

plural of “birdie” — (golf) a score of one stroke under par on a hole

From this reading Over in the meadow, In a hole in a tree, Lived a mother bluebird And her little birdies three.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
blinkedverbUS /blɪŋkt/

past form of “blink” — briefly shut the eyes

From this reading "Wink!" said the mother; "I wink," said the one: So she winked and she blinked In the sand, in the sun.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
blueadjectiveUS /bluː/

of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky

From this reading Over in the meadow, Where the stream runs blue, Lived an old mother fish And her little fishes two.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
bluebirdnounUS /ˈbluːbɜːrd/

fruit-eating mostly brilliant blue songbird of the East Indies

From this reading Over in the meadow, In a hole in a tree, Lived a mother bluebird And her little birdies three.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
BYprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
fishnounUS /fɪʃ/

any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills

From this reading Over in the meadow, Where the stream runs blue, Lived an old mother fish And her little fishes two.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
fishesnounUS /ˈfɪʃəz/

plural of “fish” — any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills

From this reading Over in the meadow, Where the stream runs blue, Lived an old mother fish And her little fishes two.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
holenounUS /hoʊl/

an opening into or through something

From this reading Over in the meadow, In a hole in a tree, Lived a mother bluebird And her little birdies three.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading "Wink!" said the mother; "I wink," said the one: So she winked and she blinked In the sand, in the sun.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
leapedverbUS /lept/

past form of “leap” — move forward by leaps and bounds

From this reading "Swim!" said the mother; "We swim," said the two: So they swam and they leaped Where the stream runs blue.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
littleadjectiveUS /ˈlɪtəl/

limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

From this reading BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
LivedverbUS /lɪvd/

past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in

From this reading BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
meadownounUS /ˈmedoʊ/

a field where grass or alfalfa are grown to be made into hay

From this reading BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
mothernounUS /ˈmʌðər/

a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)

From this reading BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
oldadjectiveUS /oʊld/

(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age

From this reading BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
OLIVEadjectiveUS /ˈɑːləv/

of a yellow-green color similar to that of an unripe olive

From this reading BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
OverprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
runsnounUS /rʌnz/

plural of “run” — a score in baseball made by a runner touching all four bases safely

From this reading Over in the meadow, Where the stream runs blue, Lived an old mother fish And her little fishes two.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading "Wink!" said the mother; "I wink," said the one: So she winked and she blinked In the sand, in the sun.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
sandnounUS /sænd/

a loose material consisting of grains of rock or coral

From this reading BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading "Wink!" said the mother; "I wink," said the one: So she winked and she blinked In the sand, in the sun.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
SoconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading "Wink!" said the mother; "I wink," said the one: So she winked and she blinked In the sand, in the sun.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
streamnounUS /striːm/

a natural body of running water flowing on or under the earth

From this reading Over in the meadow, Where the stream runs blue, Lived an old mother fish And her little fishes two.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
sunnounUS /sʌn/

the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system

From this reading BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
swamverbUS /swæm/

inflected form of “swim” — travel through water

From this reading "Swim!" said the mother; "We swim," said the two: So they swam and they leaped Where the stream runs blue.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
SwimverbUS /swɪm/

travel through water

From this reading "Swim!" said the mother; "We swim," said the two: So they swam and they leaped Where the stream runs blue.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
theypronounUS /ðeɪ/

the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading "Swim!" said the mother; "We swim," said the two: So they swam and they leaped Where the stream runs blue.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
threenounUS /θriː/

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one

From this reading Over in the meadow, In a hole in a tree, Lived a mother bluebird And her little birdies three.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
toadnounUS /toʊd/

any of various tailless stout-bodied amphibians with long hind limbs for leaping; semiaquatic and terrestrial species

From this reading BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
toadie

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.

Pending verification
treenounUS /triː/

a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms

From this reading Over in the meadow, In a hole in a tree, Lived a mother bluebird And her little birdies three.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
twonounUS /tuː/

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number

From this reading Over in the meadow, Where the stream runs blue, Lived an old mother fish And her little fishes two.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
WADSWORTH

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading BY OLIVE A. WADSWORTH Over in the meadow, In the sand, in the sun, Lived an old mother toad And her little toadie one.

Pending verification
WepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

From this reading "Swim!" said the mother; "We swim," said the two: So they swam and they leaped Where the stream runs blue.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
WhereconjunctionUS /wer/

in or at the place that

From this reading Over in the meadow, Where the stream runs blue, Lived an old mother fish And her little fishes two.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
WinkverbUS /wɪŋk/

signal by winking

From this reading "Wink!" said the mother; "I wink," said the one: So she winked and she blinked In the sand, in the sun.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
winkedverbUS /wɪŋkt/

past form of “wink” — signal by winking

From this reading "Wink!" said the mother; "I wink," said the one: So she winked and she blinked In the sand, in the sun.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Chapter 9 of Boys and Girls Bookshelf by Various holds 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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.

What does chapter 9 of Boys and Girls Bookshelf contain?

Chapter 9 holds 400 sentences of Boys and Girls Bookshelf, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 9 of Boys and Girls Bookshelf by Various exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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.

How do I study chapter 9 of Boys and Girls Bookshelf?

Work through the 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 80 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.

Can chapter 9 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 9 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.

Questions about reading Boys and Girls Bookshelf

Common questions about reading Boys and Girls Bookshelf by Various on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Boys and Girls Bookshelf?

Yes. All 5098 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #25359 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Boys and Girls Bookshelf is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #25359, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Boys and Girls Bookshelf take to read?

About 424 minutes of reading across 1020 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Boys and Girls Bookshelf section by section

How to work through Boys and Girls Bookshelf section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

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  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Boys and Girls Bookshelf

Words and structures a reader meets early in Boys and Girls Bookshelf, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Enclosed
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Boys and Girls Bookshelf; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Equal
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Boys and Girls Bookshelf; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Signs
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Boys and Girls Bookshelf; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Underlined
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Boys and Girls Bookshelf; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.