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Doodles, the Sunshine Boy
Doodles, the Sunshine Boy

Chapter I

Chapter 1 of Doodles, the Sunshine Boy is here in full — 93 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Emma C. Dowd • Curated US English Learning Edition
Cover illustration for Doodles, the Sunshine Boy
Context Illustration Reading 1/18 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.
“Ladies and gentlemens ... beautiful lark ... emperor of singers ... not swell to look at, but....
Only twenty cents!—Twenty─two am I offered?
... shame, ladies and gentlemens!”
And so on, in tones of pleading and mild complaint.
0:00 / 0:00
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.

Doodles, the Sunshine Boy

Chapter I

Chapter 1 of Doodles, the Sunshine Boy is here in full — 93 sentences across 19 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/18 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.
Line 2
“Ladies and gentlemens ... beautiful lark ... emperor of singers ... not swell to look at, but....
Line 3
Only twenty cents!—Twenty─two am I offered?
Line 4
... shame, ladies and gentlemens!”
Line 5
And so on, in tones of pleading and mild complaint.
/ənd soʊ ɑːn ɪn toʊnz ʌv ˈpliːdɪŋ ənd maɪld kəmˈpleɪnt/

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.

Blue's noun US /bluːz/

possessive form of “blue” — blue color or pigment; resembling the color of the clear sky in the daytime

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
complaint noun US /kəmˈpleɪnt/

an often persistent bodily disorder or disease; a cause for complaining

From this reading “And so on, in tones of pleading and mild complaint.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
entreaties noun US /enˈtriːtiz/

plural of “entreaty” — earnest or urgent request

From this reading “THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
fragments noun US /ˈfræɡmənts/

plural of “fragment” — a piece broken off or cut off of something else

From this reading “THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
lark noun US /lɑːrk/

North American songbirds having a yellow breast

From this reading ““Ladies and gentlemens ... beautiful lark ... emperor of singers ... not swell to look at, but....”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
pleading noun US /ˈpliːdɪŋ/

(law) a statement in legal and logical form stating something on behalf of a party to a legal proceeding

From this reading “And so on, in tones of pleading and mild complaint.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
rattle verb US /ˈrætəl/

make short successive sounds

From this reading “THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
singers noun US /ˈsɪŋərz/

plural of “singer” — a person who sings

From this reading ““Ladies and gentlemens ... beautiful lark ... emperor of singers ... not swell to look at, but....”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

open doorway verb + noun

In this reading “THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.”

1,716 times in 225,867 chapters
twenty cents noun + noun counted as “twenty cent”

In this reading “Only twenty cents!—Twenty─two am I offered?”

494 times in 225,867 chapters
look at verb + particle

take into consideration for exemplifying purposes

In this reading ““Ladies and gentlemens ... beautiful lark ... emperor of singers ... not swell to look at, but....”

296,767 times in 225,867 chapters
floated through verb + particle counted as “float through”

In this reading “THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.”

808 times in 225,867 chapters
roar of verb + particle

In this reading “THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.”

14,759 times in 225,867 chapters

All words in this reading · 47

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.

aboveprepositionUS /əˈbʌv/

higher than, or over, something

From this reading THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
amauxiliary verbUS /æm/

the form of “be” used with “I”

From this reading Only twenty cents!—Twenty─two am I offered?

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading “Ladies and gentlemens ... beautiful lark ... emperor of singers ... not swell to look at, but....

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
auctioneer's

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

From this reading THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.

Pending verification
BARGAINnounUS /ˈbɑːrɡən/

an agreement between parties (usually arrived at after discussion) fixing obligations of each

From this reading THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
beautifuladjectiveUS /ˈbjuːtəfəl/

delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration

From this reading “Ladies and gentlemens ... beautiful lark ... emperor of singers ... not swell to look at, but....

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
birdnounUS /bɜːrd/

warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings

From this reading THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Blue'snounUS /bluːz/

possessive form of “blue” — blue color or pigment; resembling the color of the clear sky in the daytime

From this reading THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading “Ladies and gentlemens ... beautiful lark ... emperor of singers ... not swell to look at, but....

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
centsnounUS /sents/

plural of “cent” — a fractional monetary unit of several countries

From this reading Only twenty cents!—Twenty─two am I offered?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
clacked

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

From this reading THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.

Pending verification
complaintnounUS /kəmˈpleɪnt/

an often persistent bodily disorder or disease; a cause for complaining

From this reading And so on, in tones of pleading and mild complaint.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
doorwaynounUS /ˈdɔːrweɪ/

the entrance (the space in a wall) through which you enter or leave a room or building; the space that a door can close

From this reading THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
earsnounUS /ɪrz/

plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium

From this reading THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
emperornounUS /ˈempərər/

the male ruler of an empire

From this reading “Ladies and gentlemens ... beautiful lark ... emperor of singers ... not swell to look at, but....

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
entreatiesnounUS /enˈtriːtiz/

plural of “entreaty” — earnest or urgent request

From this reading THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
floatedverbUS /ˈfloʊtəd/

past form of “float” — be in motion due to some air or water current

From this reading THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
FRAGMENTSnounUS /ˈfræɡmənts/

plural of “fragment” — a piece broken off or cut off of something else

From this reading THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
gentlemens

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

From this reading “Ladies and gentlemens ... beautiful lark ... emperor of singers ... not swell to look at, but....

Pending verification
IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading Only twenty cents!—Twenty─two am I offered?

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
LadiesnounUS /ˈleɪdiz/

plural of “lady” — a polite name for any woman

From this reading “Ladies and gentlemens ... beautiful lark ... emperor of singers ... not swell to look at, but....

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
larknounUS /lɑːrk/

North American songbirds having a yellow breast

From this reading “Ladies and gentlemens ... beautiful lark ... emperor of singers ... not swell to look at, but....

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
lookverbUS /lʊk/

perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards

From this reading “Ladies and gentlemens ... beautiful lark ... emperor of singers ... not swell to look at, but....

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
mildadjectiveUS /maɪld/

moderate in type or degree or effect or force; far from extreme

From this reading And so on, in tones of pleading and mild complaint.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading “Ladies and gentlemens ... beautiful lark ... emperor of singers ... not swell to look at, but....

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
offeredverbUS /ˈɔːfərd/

past form of “offer” — make available or accessible, provide or furnish

From this reading Only twenty cents!—Twenty─two am I offered?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading And so on, in tones of pleading and mild complaint.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
OnlyadverbUS /ˈoʊnli/

and nothing more

From this reading Only twenty cents!—Twenty─two am I offered?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
openverbUS /ˈoʊ.pən/

To move from a closed position.

From this reading THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.

Velmora curated lexicon
pleadingnounUS /ˈpliːdɪŋ/

(law) a statement in legal and logical form stating something on behalf of a party to a legal proceeding

From this reading And so on, in tones of pleading and mild complaint.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
rattleverbUS /ˈrætəl/

make short successive sounds

From this reading THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
roarverbUS /rɔːr/

make a loud noise, as of wind, water, or vehicles

From this reading THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
shamenounUS /ʃeɪm/

a painful emotion resulting from an awareness of inadequacy or guilt

From this reading ... shame, ladies and gentlemens!”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
shopverbUS /ʃɑːp/

do one's shopping

From this reading THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
singersnounUS /ˈsɪŋərz/

plural of “singer” — a person who sings

From this reading “Ladies and gentlemens ... beautiful lark ... emperor of singers ... not swell to look at, but....

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading And so on, in tones of pleading and mild complaint.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
streetnounUS /striːt/

a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings

From this reading THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
swellverbUS /swel/

increase in size, magnitude, number, or intensity

From this reading “Ladies and gentlemens ... beautiful lark ... emperor of singers ... not swell to look at, but....

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
throughprepositionUS /θruː/

from one end or side of something to the other

From this reading THE BARGAIN FRAGMENTS of the auctioneer’s entreaties floated through the open doorway of the bird shop and, above the rattle and roar of the street, clacked in Blue’s ears.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading “Ladies and gentlemens ... beautiful lark ... emperor of singers ... not swell to look at, but....

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
tonesnounUS /toʊnz/

plural of “tone” — the quality of a person's voice

From this reading And so on, in tones of pleading and mild complaint.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
twentynounUS /ˈtwenti/

the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one

From this reading Only twenty cents!—Twenty─two am I offered?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
twonounUS /tuː/

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number

From this reading Only twenty cents!—Twenty─two am I offered?

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Chapter 1 of Doodles, the Sunshine Boy by Emma C. Dowd holds 93 sentences, grouped into 19 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.

What does chapter 1 of Doodles, the Sunshine Boy contain?

Chapter 1 holds 93 sentences of Doodles, the Sunshine Boy, unabridged, divided into 19 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 1 of Doodles, the Sunshine Boy by Emma C. Dowd exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 93 sentences, grouped into 19 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 Doodles, the Sunshine Boy?

Work through the 19 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 19 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 Doodles, the Sunshine Boy

Common questions about reading Doodles, the Sunshine Boy by Emma C. Dowd on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Doodles, the Sunshine Boy?

Yes. All 4849 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58164 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Doodles, the Sunshine Boy is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #58164, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Doodles, the Sunshine Boy take to read?

About 404 minutes of reading across 970 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Doodles, the Sunshine Boy section by section

How to work through Doodles, the Sunshine Boy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 27 chapters of Doodles, the Sunshine Boy to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

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

Vocabulary met early in Doodles, the Sunshine Boy

Words and structures a reader meets early in Doodles, the Sunshine Boy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Bargain
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Doodles, the Sunshine Boy; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Fragments
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Doodles, the Sunshine Boy; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Auctioneer
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Doodles, the Sunshine Boy; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Entreaties
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Doodles, the Sunshine Boy; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.