Chapter 7 of Christmas-Tree Land is here in full — 315 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of Christmas-Tree Land is here in full — 315 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A WINDING STAIR AND A SCAMPER. 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.' _The Fairies' Nest._ Godmother's voice stopped. For a moment or two there was silence. 'I hope it _was_ true,' said Maia, the first to find her tongue.
Chapter 7 of Christmas-Tree Land is here in full — 315 sentences across 63 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/63 · 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.
plural of “fairy” — a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers
From this reading “_The Fairies' Nest._ Godmother's voice stopped.”
type genus of the Majidae; nearly cosmopolitan in distribution
From this reading “'I hope it _was_ true,' said Maia, the first to find her tongue.”
a structure in which animals lay eggs or give birth to their young
From this reading “_The Fairies' Nest._ Godmother's voice stopped.”
rushing about hastily in an undignified way
From this reading “A WINDING STAIR AND A SCAMPER.”
support consisting of a place to rest the foot while ascending or descending a stairway
From this reading “A WINDING STAIR AND A SCAMPER.”
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading “'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'”
a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity
From this reading “'I hope it _was_ true,' said Maia, the first to find her tongue.”
marked by repeated turns and bends
From this reading “A WINDING STAIR AND A SCAMPER.”
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 “A WINDING STAIR AND A SCAMPER.”
temporarily
In this reading “For a moment or two there was silence.”
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 A WINDING STAIR AND A SCAMPER.
(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 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A WINDING STAIR AND A SCAMPER.
any thing at all
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
all things; all of a situation
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
plural of “fairy” — a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers
From this reading _The Fairies' Nest._ Godmother's voice stopped.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading 'I hope it _was_ true,' said Maia, the first to find her tongue.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For a moment or two there was silence.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _The Fairies' Nest._ Godmother's voice stopped.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading 'I hope it _was_ true,' said Maia, the first to find her tongue.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading 'I hope it _was_ true,' said Maia, the first to find her tongue.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading 'I hope it _was_ true,' said Maia, the first to find her tongue.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading 'I hope it _was_ true,' said Maia, the first to find her tongue.
type genus of the Majidae; nearly cosmopolitan in distribution
From this reading 'I hope it _was_ true,' said Maia, the first to find her tongue.
a particular point in time
From this reading For a moment or two there was silence.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
a structure in which animals lay eggs or give birth to their young
From this reading _The Fairies' Nest._ Godmother's voice stopped.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading For a moment or two there was silence.
participate in games or sport
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading 'I hope it _was_ true,' said Maia, the first to find her tongue.
rushing about hastily in an undignified way
From this reading A WINDING STAIR AND A SCAMPER.
Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.
From this reading For a moment or two there was silence.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
a thing, without saying which
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
support consisting of a place to rest the foot while ascending or descending a stairway
From this reading A WINDING STAIR AND A SCAMPER.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading _The Fairies' Nest._ Godmother's voice stopped.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
taken unawares or suddenly and feeling wonder or astonishment
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _The Fairies' Nest._ Godmother's voice stopped.
in or at that place or location
From this reading For a moment or two there was silence.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity
From this reading 'I hope it _was_ true,' said Maia, the first to find her tongue.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading 'I hope it _was_ true,' said Maia, the first to find her tongue.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading For a moment or two there was silence.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading _The Fairies' Nest._ Godmother's voice stopped.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading For a moment or two there was silence.
the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading 'But children, to whom all is play, And something new each hour must bring, Find everything so strange, that they Are not surprised at anything.'
marked by repeated turns and bends
From this reading A WINDING STAIR AND A SCAMPER.
Chapter 7 of Christmas-Tree Land by Mrs. Molesworth holds 315 sentences, grouped into 63 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 7 holds 315 sentences of Christmas-Tree Land, unabridged, divided into 63 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of Christmas-Tree Land by Mrs. Molesworth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 315 sentences, grouped into 63 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 63 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 63 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 7 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-Tree Land by Mrs. Molesworth on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2760 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39375 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39375, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 230 minutes of reading across 552 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Christmas-Tree Land section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Christmas-Tree Land 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-Tree Land, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
