Chapter 3 of Dick o' the Fens is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Dick o' the Fens is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled." "Oh, they won't be!" cried Dick. "When will you go?" "When the watter's down, my lad." "It's low enough now.
Chapter 3 of Dick o' the Fens is here in full — 412 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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 “"Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."”
plural of “decoy” — a beguiler who leads someone into danger (usually as part of a plot)
From this reading “"Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."”
someone who is a detective
From this reading “"Oh, they won't be!" cried Dick.”
a boy or man
From this reading “"Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."”
be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading “"Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."”
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading “"It's low enough now.”
having the character or disposition harmed by pampering or oversolicitous attention
From this reading “"Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."”
filled with something
From this reading “"Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."”
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.
(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 "Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Oh, they won't be!" cried Dick.
plural of “bird” — warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading "Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "Oh, they won't be!" cried Dick.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading "Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."
plural of “decoy” — a beguiler who leads someone into danger (usually as part of a plot)
From this reading "Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."
someone who is a detective
From this reading "Oh, they won't be!" cried Dick.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading "It's low enough now.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "When will you go?"
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading "Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's low enough now.
a boy or man
From this reading "Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."
be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading "Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading "It's low enough now.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "It's low enough now.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, they won't be!" cried Dick.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."
having the character or disposition harmed by pampering or oversolicitous attention
From this reading "Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."
filled with something
From this reading "Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Oh, they won't be!" cried Dick.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."
at the time that
From this reading "Some day, lad, when the watter's down, if my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales [stuffed decoys] spoiled."
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "When will you go?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Oh, they won't be!" cried Dick.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "When will you go?"
Chapter 3 of Dick o' the Fens by George Manville Fenn holds 412 sentences, grouped into 83 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 3 holds 412 sentences of Dick o' the Fens, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Dick o' the Fens by George Manville Fenn exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 412 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 3 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 Dick o' the Fens by George Manville Fenn on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6997 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21306 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21306, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 583 minutes of reading across 1400 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dick o' the Fens section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of Dick o' the Fens 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 Dick o' the Fens, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
