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Daddy-Long-Legs

Chapter I · Chapter 1

Chapter 1 of Daddy-Long-Legs is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Jean Webster • Curated US English Learning Edition

Cover illustration for Daddy-Long-Legs

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

Every floor must be spotless, every chair dustless, and every bed without a wrinkle.

Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

It was a distressing time; and poor Jerusha Abbott, being the oldest orphan, had to bear the brunt of it.

But this particular first Wednesday, like its predecessors, finally dragged itself to a close.

Narrator

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.

Chapter I Reading 1/39

Daddy-Long-Legs Jean Webster

Cover illustration for Daddy-Long-Legs

Chapter I

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 of Daddy-Long-Legs is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste. Every floor must be spotless, every chair dustless, and every bed without a wrinkle. Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke. It was a distressing time; and poor Jerusha Abbott, being the oldest orphan, had to bear the brunt of it. But this particular first Wednesday, like its predecessors, finally dragged itself to a close.

Daddy-Long-Legs

Chapter I · Chapter 1

Chapter 1 of Daddy-Long-Legs is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/39 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

Line 2

Every floor must be spotless, every chair dustless, and every bed without a wrinkle.

Line 3

Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

Line 4

It was a distressing time; and poor Jerusha Abbott, being the oldest orphan, had to bear the brunt of it.

Line 5

But this particular first Wednesday, like its predecessors, finally dragged itself to a close.

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.

Forgotten adjective US /fərˈɡɑːt.n̩/

Not remembered; lapsed from memory.

From this reading “The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.”

All words in this reading · 75

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.

a

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

From this reading The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

Abbott

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

From this reading It was a distressing time; and poor Jerusha Abbott, being the oldest orphan, had to bear the brunt of it.

all

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

and

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

From this reading The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

awaited

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

From this reading The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

Awful

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

From this reading The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

be

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

From this reading The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

bear

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

From this reading It was a distressing time; and poor Jerusha Abbott, being the oldest orphan, had to bear the brunt of it.

bed

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

From this reading Every floor must be spotless, every chair dustless, and every bed without a wrinkle.

being

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

From this reading It was a distressing time; and poor Jerusha Abbott, being the oldest orphan, had to bear the brunt of it.

brunt

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

From this reading It was a distressing time; and poor Jerusha Abbott, being the oldest orphan, had to bear the brunt of it.

But

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

From this reading But this particular first Wednesday, like its predecessors, finally dragged itself to a close.

buttoned

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

chair

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

From this reading Every floor must be spotless, every chair dustless, and every bed without a wrinkle.

close

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

From this reading But this particular first Wednesday, like its predecessors, finally dragged itself to a close.

combed

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

courage

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

From this reading The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

Day

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

From this reading The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

distressing

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

From this reading It was a distressing time; and poor Jerusha Abbott, being the oldest orphan, had to bear the brunt of it.

dragged

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

From this reading But this particular first Wednesday, like its predecessors, finally dragged itself to a close.

dread

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

From this reading The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

dustless

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

From this reading Every floor must be spotless, every chair dustless, and every bed without a wrinkle.

endured

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

From this reading The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

every

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

From this reading The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

finally

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

From this reading But this particular first Wednesday, like its predecessors, finally dragged itself to a close.

first

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

From this reading The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

floor

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

From this reading Every floor must be spotless, every chair dustless, and every bed without a wrinkle.

forgottenadjectiveUS /fərˈɡɑːt.n̩/

Not remembered; lapsed from memory.

From this reading The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

freshly

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

ginghams

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

had

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

From this reading It was a distressing time; and poor Jerusha Abbott, being the oldest orphan, had to bear the brunt of it.

haste

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

From this reading The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

in

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

From this reading The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

into

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

It

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

From this reading It was a distressing time; and poor Jerusha Abbott, being the oldest orphan, had to bear the brunt of it.

its

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

From this reading But this particular first Wednesday, like its predecessors, finally dragged itself to a close.

itself

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

From this reading But this particular first Wednesday, like its predecessors, finally dragged itself to a close.

Jerusha

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

From this reading It was a distressing time; and poor Jerusha Abbott, being the oldest orphan, had to bear the brunt of it.

like

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

From this reading But this particular first Wednesday, like its predecessors, finally dragged itself to a close.

little

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

manners

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

month

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

From this reading The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

must

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

From this reading Every floor must be spotless, every chair dustless, and every bed without a wrinkle.

Ninety-seven

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

No

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

of

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

oldest

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

From this reading It was a distressing time; and poor Jerusha Abbott, being the oldest orphan, had to bear the brunt of it.

orphan

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

From this reading It was a distressing time; and poor Jerusha Abbott, being the oldest orphan, had to bear the brunt of it.

orphans

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

particular

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

From this reading But this particular first Wednesday, like its predecessors, finally dragged itself to a close.

Perfectly

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

From this reading The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

poor

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

From this reading It was a distressing time; and poor Jerusha Abbott, being the oldest orphan, had to bear the brunt of it.

predecessors

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

From this reading But this particular first Wednesday, like its predecessors, finally dragged itself to a close.

reminded

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

say

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

scrubbed

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

sir

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

spoke

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

spotless

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

From this reading Every floor must be spotless, every chair dustless, and every bed without a wrinkle.

squirming

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

starched

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

The

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

From this reading The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

their

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

this

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

From this reading But this particular first Wednesday, like its predecessors, finally dragged itself to a close.

time

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

From this reading It was a distressing time; and poor Jerusha Abbott, being the oldest orphan, had to bear the brunt of it.

to

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

From this reading The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

told

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

Trustee

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

was

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

From this reading The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

Wednesday

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

From this reading The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

whenever

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

with

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

From this reading The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste.

without

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

From this reading Every floor must be spotless, every chair dustless, and every bed without a wrinkle.

wrinkle

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

From this reading Every floor must be spotless, every chair dustless, and every bed without a wrinkle.

Yes

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

From this reading Ninety-seven squirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, 'Yes, sir,' 'No, sir,' whenever a Trustee spoke.

Chapter 1 of Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster holds 196 sentences, grouped into 40 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 1 of Daddy-Long-Legs contain?

Chapter 1 holds 196 sentences of Daddy-Long-Legs, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 1 of Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 196 sentences, grouped into 40 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 1 of Daddy-Long-Legs?

Work through the 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 40 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 1 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading Daddy-Long-Legs

Common questions about reading Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Daddy-Long-Legs?

Yes. All 2516 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #157 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Daddy-Long-Legs is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #157, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Daddy-Long-Legs take to read?

About 209 minutes of reading across 504 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Daddy-Long-Legs section by section

How to work through Daddy-Long-Legs section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

Open a chapter

Choose one of the 13 chapters of Daddy-Long-Legs to begin.
Read one section

Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Listen and tap

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

Vocabulary met early in Daddy-Long-Legs

Words and structures a reader meets early in Daddy-Long-Legs, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

First: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Daddy-Long-Legs; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Wednesday: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Daddy-Long-Legs; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Every: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Daddy-Long-Legs; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Month: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Daddy-Long-Legs; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.