Chapter 1 of Cornelli is here in full — 271 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Cornelli is here in full — 271 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
First Martha combed the little girl’s hair, then she pulled the apron into place. Finally she got a thread and needle and began to mend the braid on the dress. “Stop, Martha, stop, please!” Cornelli called out suddenly, pulling her skirt away. “You must not sew, for your finger is all pricked to pieces.
Chapter 1 of Cornelli is here in full — 271 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 13/54 · 5 reading units · Lines 61–65
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.
a garment of cloth or leather or plastic that is tied about the waist and worn to protect your clothing
From this reading “First Martha combed the little girl’s hair, then she pulled the apron into place.”
make by braiding or interlacing
From this reading “Finally she got a thread and needle and began to mend the braid on the dress.”
(of hair) made tidy with a comb
From this reading “First Martha combed the little girl’s hair, then she pulled the apron into place.”
restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken
From this reading “Finally she got a thread and needle and began to mend the braid on the dress.”
the leaf of a conifer
From this reading “Finally she got a thread and needle and began to mend the braid on the dress.”
past form of “prick” — make a small hole into, as with a needle or a thorn
From this reading ““You must not sew, for your finger is all pricked to pieces.”
fasten by sewing; do needlework
From this reading ““You must not sew, for your finger is all pricked to pieces.”
cloth covering that forms the part of a garment below the waist
From this reading “Cornelli called out suddenly, pulling her skirt away.”
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 Finally she got a thread and needle and began to mend the braid on the dress.
(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 “You must not sew, for your finger is all pricked to pieces.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Finally she got a thread and needle and began to mend the braid on the dress.
a garment of cloth or leather or plastic that is tied about the waist and worn to protect your clothing
From this reading First Martha combed the little girl’s hair, then she pulled the apron into place.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Cornelli called out suddenly, pulling her skirt away.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Finally she got a thread and needle and began to mend the braid on the dress.
make by braiding or interlacing
From this reading Finally she got a thread and needle and began to mend the braid on the dress.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Cornelli called out suddenly, pulling her skirt away.
(of hair) made tidy with a comb
From this reading First Martha combed the little girl’s hair, then she pulled the apron into place.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Cornelli called out suddenly, pulling her skirt away.
put on clothes
From this reading Finally she got a thread and needle and began to mend the braid on the dress.
after an unspecified period of time or an especially long delay
From this reading Finally she got a thread and needle and began to mend the braid on the dress.
feel or handle with the fingers
From this reading “You must not sew, for your finger is all pricked to pieces.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading First Martha combed the little girl’s hair, then she pulled the apron into place.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “You must not sew, for your finger is all pricked to pieces.
possessive form of “girl” — a young female
From this reading First Martha combed the little girl’s hair, then she pulled the apron into place.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Finally she got a thread and needle and began to mend the braid on the dress.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading First Martha combed the little girl’s hair, then she pulled the apron into place.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Cornelli called out suddenly, pulling her skirt away.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading First Martha combed the little girl’s hair, then she pulled the apron into place.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “You must not sew, for your finger is all pricked to pieces.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading First Martha combed the little girl’s hair, then she pulled the apron into place.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading First Martha combed the little girl’s hair, then she pulled the apron into place.
restore by replacing a part or putting together what is torn or broken
From this reading Finally she got a thread and needle and began to mend the braid on the dress.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading “You must not sew, for your finger is all pricked to pieces.
the leaf of a conifer
From this reading Finally she got a thread and needle and began to mend the braid on the dress.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “You must not sew, for your finger is all pricked to pieces.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Finally she got a thread and needle and began to mend the braid on the dress.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Cornelli called out suddenly, pulling her skirt away.
plural of “piece” — a separate part of a whole
From this reading “You must not sew, for your finger is all pricked to pieces.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading First Martha combed the little girl’s hair, then she pulled the apron into place.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading “Stop, Martha, stop, please!”
past form of “prick” — make a small hole into, as with a needle or a thorn
From this reading “You must not sew, for your finger is all pricked to pieces.
past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling
From this reading First Martha combed the little girl’s hair, then she pulled the apron into place.
the act of pulling; applying force to move something toward or with you
From this reading Cornelli called out suddenly, pulling her skirt away.
fasten by sewing; do needlework
From this reading “You must not sew, for your finger is all pricked to pieces.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading First Martha combed the little girl’s hair, then she pulled the apron into place.
cloth covering that forms the part of a garment below the waist
From this reading Cornelli called out suddenly, pulling her skirt away.
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading “Stop, Martha, stop, please!”
happening unexpectedly
From this reading Cornelli called out suddenly, pulling her skirt away.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading First Martha combed the little girl’s hair, then she pulled the apron into place.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading First Martha combed the little girl’s hair, then she pulled the apron into place.
to move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course
From this reading Finally she got a thread and needle and began to mend the braid on the dress.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Finally she got a thread and needle and began to mend the braid on the dress.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You must not sew, for your finger is all pricked to pieces.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You must not sew, for your finger is all pricked to pieces.
Chapter 1 of Cornelli by Johanna Spyri holds 271 sentences, grouped into 55 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 271 sentences of Cornelli, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Cornelli by Johanna Spyri exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 271 sentences, grouped into 55 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 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 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 Cornelli by Johanna Spyri on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Cornelli section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Cornelli 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 Cornelli, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
