Chapter 1 of Cradle Songs is here in full — 221 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Cradle Songs is here in full — 221 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
D. LOTHROP & COMPANY. A SONG OF SIX-PENCE. Sing a song, a brand new song: “Sing a song of six-pence, A pock-et full of rye.” John and Jim-my both picked some, So they could have a pie. And when they’d filled their pock-ets full, Down in the field of rye, They found some cun-ning lit-tle birds, To put in-to the pie.
Chapter 1 of Cradle Songs is here in full — 221 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/44 · 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 “bird” — warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading “And when they’d filled their pock-ets full, Down in the field of rye, They found some cun-ning lit-tle birds, To put in-to the pie.”
a name given to a product or service
From this reading “Sing a song, a brand new song: “Sing a song of six-pence, A pock-et full of rye.””
a piece of land cleared of trees and usually enclosed
From this reading “And when they’d filled their pock-ets full, Down in the field of rye, They found some cun-ning lit-tle birds, To put in-to the pie.”
past form of “pick” — select carefully from a group
From this reading “John and Jim-my both picked some, So they could have a pie.”
dish baked in pastry-lined pan often with a pastry top
From this reading “John and Jim-my both picked some, So they could have a pie.”
the seed of the cereal grass
From this reading “Sing a song, a brand new song: “Sing a song of six-pence, A pock-et full of rye.””
deliver by singing
From this reading “Sing a song, a brand new song: “Sing a song of six-pence, A pock-et full of rye.””
a short musical composition with words
From this reading “A SONG OF SIX-PENCE.”
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 “Sing a song, a brand new song: “Sing a song of six-pence, A pock-et full of rye.””
In this reading “And when they’d filled their pock-ets full, Down in the field of rye, They found some cun-ning lit-tle birds, To put in-to the pie.”
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 SONG OF SIX-PENCE.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading John and Jim-my both picked some, So they could have a pie.
plural of “bird” — warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading And when they’d filled their pock-ets full, Down in the field of rye, They found some cun-ning lit-tle birds, To put in-to the pie.
the two together, not just one
From this reading John and Jim-my both picked some, So they could have a pie.
a name given to a product or service
From this reading Sing a song, a brand new song: “Sing a song of six-pence, A pock-et full of rye.”
an institution created to conduct business
From this reading D. LOTHROP & COMPANY.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading John and Jim-my both picked some, So they could have a pie.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And when they’d filled their pock-ets full, Down in the field of rye, They found some cun-ning lit-tle birds, To put in-to the pie.
a fat-soluble vitamin that prevents rickets
From this reading D. LOTHROP & COMPANY.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading And when they’d filled their pock-ets full, Down in the field of rye, They found some cun-ning lit-tle birds, To put in-to the pie.
a piece of land cleared of trees and usually enclosed
From this reading And when they’d filled their pock-ets full, Down in the field of rye, They found some cun-ning lit-tle birds, To put in-to the pie.
(usually followed by “with” or used as a combining form) generously supplied with
From this reading And when they’d filled their pock-ets full, Down in the field of rye, They found some cun-ning lit-tle birds, To put in-to the pie.
set up or found
From this reading And when they’d filled their pock-ets full, Down in the field of rye, They found some cun-ning lit-tle birds, To put in-to the pie.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading Sing a song, a brand new song: “Sing a song of six-pence, A pock-et full of rye.”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading John and Jim-my both picked some, So they could have a pie.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading And when they’d filled their pock-ets full, Down in the field of rye, They found some cun-ning lit-tle birds, To put in-to the pie.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And when they’d filled their pock-ets full, Down in the field of rye, They found some cun-ning lit-tle birds, To put in-to the pie.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading John and Jim-my both picked some, So they could have a pie.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading John and Jim-my both picked some, So they could have a pie.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And when they’d filled their pock-ets full, Down in the field of rye, They found some cun-ning lit-tle birds, To put in-to the pie.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading D. LOTHROP & COMPANY.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading Sing a song, a brand new song: “Sing a song of six-pence, A pock-et full of rye.”
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A SONG OF SIX-PENCE.
past form of “pick” — select carefully from a group
From this reading John and Jim-my both picked some, So they could have a pie.
dish baked in pastry-lined pan often with a pastry top
From this reading John and Jim-my both picked some, So they could have a pie.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sing a song, a brand new song: “Sing a song of six-pence, A pock-et full of rye.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And when they’d filled their pock-ets full, Down in the field of rye, They found some cun-ning lit-tle birds, To put in-to the pie.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading And when they’d filled their pock-ets full, Down in the field of rye, They found some cun-ning lit-tle birds, To put in-to the pie.
the seed of the cereal grass
From this reading Sing a song, a brand new song: “Sing a song of six-pence, A pock-et full of rye.”
deliver by singing
From this reading Sing a song, a brand new song: “Sing a song of six-pence, A pock-et full of rye.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A SONG OF SIX-PENCE.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading John and Jim-my both picked some, So they could have a pie.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading John and Jim-my both picked some, So they could have a pie.
a short musical composition with words
From this reading A SONG OF SIX-PENCE.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And when they’d filled their pock-ets full, Down in the field of rye, They found some cun-ning lit-tle birds, To put in-to the pie.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading And when they’d filled their pock-ets full, Down in the field of rye, They found some cun-ning lit-tle birds, To put in-to the pie.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading John and Jim-my both picked some, So they could have a pie.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And when they’d filled their pock-ets full, Down in the field of rye, They found some cun-ning lit-tle birds, To put in-to the pie.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading And when they’d filled their pock-ets full, Down in the field of rye, They found some cun-ning lit-tle birds, To put in-to the pie.
at the time that
From this reading And when they’d filled their pock-ets full, Down in the field of rye, They found some cun-ning lit-tle birds, To put in-to the pie.
Chapter 1 of Cradle Songs by Various holds 221 sentences, grouped into 45 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 221 sentences of Cradle Songs, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Cradle Songs by Various exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 221 sentences, grouped into 45 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 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 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 Cradle Songs by Various on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 221 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50612 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50612, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 18 minutes of reading across 45 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Cradle Songs section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Cradle Songs 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 Cradle Songs, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
