Chapter 2 of Christmas Tales and Christmas Verse is here in full — 469 sentences across 94 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Christmas Tales and Christmas Verse is here in full — 469 sentences across 94 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"No," cried the pine-tree, "look to the east and see the Christmas day a-dawning! The prince is coming, and his pathway is through the forest!" The storm had ceased. Snow lay upon all the earth. The hills, the forest, the city, and the meadows were white with the robe the storm-king had thrown over them.
Chapter 2 of Christmas Tales and Christmas Verse is here in full — 469 sentences across 94 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/93 · 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.
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading “"No," cried the pine-tree, "look to the east and see the Christmas day a-dawning!”
the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees
From this reading “"No," cried the pine-tree, "look to the east and see the Christmas day a-dawning!”
plural of “hill” — a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading “The hills, the forest, the city, and the meadows were white with the robe the storm-king had thrown over them.”
plural of “meadow” — a field where grass or alfalfa are grown to be made into hay
From this reading “The hills, the forest, the city, and the meadows were white with the robe the storm-king had thrown over them.”
a bundle of myelinated nerve fibers following a path through the brain
From this reading “The prince is coming, and his pathway is through the forest!"”
any loose flowing garment
From this reading “The hills, the forest, the city, and the meadows were white with the robe the storm-king had thrown over them.”
precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading “Snow lay upon all the earth.”
behave violently, as if in state of a great anger
From this reading “The storm had ceased.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No," cried the pine-tree, "look to the east and see the Christmas day a-dawning!
(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 Snow lay upon all the earth.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "No," cried the pine-tree, "look to the east and see the Christmas day a-dawning!
past form of “cease” — put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading The storm had ceased.
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading "No," cried the pine-tree, "look to the east and see the Christmas day a-dawning!
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading The hills, the forest, the city, and the meadows were white with the robe the storm-king had thrown over them.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading The prince is coming, and his pathway is through the forest!"
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "No," cried the pine-tree, "look to the east and see the Christmas day a-dawning!
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading "No," cried the pine-tree, "look to the east and see the Christmas day a-dawning!
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading Snow lay upon all the earth.
the cardinal compass point that is at 90 degrees
From this reading "No," cried the pine-tree, "look to the east and see the Christmas day a-dawning!
the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
From this reading The prince is coming, and his pathway is through the forest!"
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The storm had ceased.
plural of “hill” — a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading The hills, the forest, the city, and the meadows were white with the robe the storm-king had thrown over them.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The prince is coming, and his pathway is through the forest!"
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The prince is coming, and his pathway is through the forest!"
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Snow lay upon all the earth.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading "No," cried the pine-tree, "look to the east and see the Christmas day a-dawning!
plural of “meadow” — a field where grass or alfalfa are grown to be made into hay
From this reading The hills, the forest, the city, and the meadows were white with the robe the storm-king had thrown over them.
not any; not one
From this reading "No," cried the pine-tree, "look to the east and see the Christmas day a-dawning!
above and across; more than
From this reading The hills, the forest, the city, and the meadows were white with the robe the storm-king had thrown over them.
a bundle of myelinated nerve fibers following a path through the brain
From this reading The prince is coming, and his pathway is through the forest!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "No," cried the pine-tree, "look to the east and see the Christmas day a-dawning!
a male member of a royal family other than the sovereign (especially the son of a sovereign)
From this reading The prince is coming, and his pathway is through the forest!"
any loose flowing garment
From this reading The hills, the forest, the city, and the meadows were white with the robe the storm-king had thrown over them.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading "No," cried the pine-tree, "look to the east and see the Christmas day a-dawning!
precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading Snow lay upon all the earth.
behave violently, as if in state of a great anger
From this reading The storm had ceased.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The hills, the forest, the city, and the meadows were white with the robe the storm-king had thrown over them.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "No," cried the pine-tree, "look to the east and see the Christmas day a-dawning!
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The hills, the forest, the city, and the meadows were white with the robe the storm-king had thrown over them.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading The prince is coming, and his pathway is through the forest!"
caused to fall to the ground
From this reading The hills, the forest, the city, and the meadows were white with the robe the storm-king had thrown over them.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "No," cried the pine-tree, "look to the east and see the Christmas day a-dawning!
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Snow lay upon all the earth.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The hills, the forest, the city, and the meadows were white with the robe the storm-king had thrown over them.
a Caucasian
From this reading The hills, the forest, the city, and the meadows were white with the robe the storm-king had thrown over them.
in the company of; together with
From this reading The hills, the forest, the city, and the meadows were white with the robe the storm-king had thrown over them.
Chapter 2 of Christmas Tales and Christmas Verse by Eugene Field holds 469 sentences, grouped into 94 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 2 holds 469 sentences of Christmas Tales and Christmas Verse, unabridged, divided into 94 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Christmas Tales and Christmas Verse by Eugene Field exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 469 sentences, grouped into 94 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 94 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 94 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 2 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 Christmas Tales and Christmas Verse by Eugene Field on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 892 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17630 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17630, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 74 minutes of reading across 179 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Christmas Tales and Christmas Verse section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Christmas Tales and Christmas Verse 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 Christmas Tales and Christmas Verse, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
