Chapter 4 of Dooryard Stories is here in full — 448 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Dooryard Stories is here in full — 448 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Mr. Chipmunk did not care to talk, either. He believed in thinking before you speak, and he had a great deal of thinking to do just then. A team stopped by the gate of the driveway. Mr. Chipmunk dared not look to see what was coming. Silvertip did not look until the Milkman was near him carrying the milk bottles.
Chapter 4 of Dooryard Stories is here in full — 448 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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 “bottle” — a glass or plastic vessel used for storing drinks or other liquids; typically cylindrical without handles and with a narrow neck that can be plugged or capped
From this reading “Silvertip did not look until the Milkman was near him carrying the milk bottles.”
-ing form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading “Silvertip did not look until the Milkman was near him carrying the milk bottles.”
a burrowing ground squirrel of western America and Asia; has cheek pouches and a light and dark stripe running down the body
From this reading “Mr. Chipmunk did not care to talk, either.”
past form of “dare” — take upon oneself; act presumptuously, without permission
From this reading “Mr. Chipmunk dared not look to see what was coming.”
a road leading up to a private house
From this reading “A team stopped by the gate of the driveway.”
a white nutritious liquid secreted by mammals and used as food by human beings
From this reading “Silvertip did not look until the Milkman was near him carrying the milk bottles.”
someone who delivers milk
From this reading “Silvertip did not look until the Milkman was near him carrying the milk bottles.”
a cooperative unit (especially in sports)
From this reading “A team stopped by the gate of the driveway.”
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 “He believed in thinking before you speak, and he had a great deal of thinking to do just then.”
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 He believed in thinking before you speak, and he had a great deal of thinking to do just then.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He believed in thinking before you speak, and he had a great deal of thinking to do just then.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading He believed in thinking before you speak, and he had a great deal of thinking to do just then.
past form of “believe” — accept as true; take to be true
From this reading He believed in thinking before you speak, and he had a great deal of thinking to do just then.
plural of “bottle” — a glass or plastic vessel used for storing drinks or other liquids; typically cylindrical without handles and with a narrow neck that can be plugged or capped
From this reading Silvertip did not look until the Milkman was near him carrying the milk bottles.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading A team stopped by the gate of the driveway.
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading Mr. Chipmunk did not care to talk, either.
-ing form of “carry” — move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading Silvertip did not look until the Milkman was near him carrying the milk bottles.
a burrowing ground squirrel of western America and Asia; has cheek pouches and a light and dark stripe running down the body
From this reading Mr. Chipmunk did not care to talk, either.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading Mr. Chipmunk dared not look to see what was coming.
past form of “dare” — take upon oneself; act presumptuously, without permission
From this reading Mr. Chipmunk dared not look to see what was coming.
act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
From this reading He believed in thinking before you speak, and he had a great deal of thinking to do just then.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Mr. Chipmunk did not care to talk, either.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading He believed in thinking before you speak, and he had a great deal of thinking to do just then.
a road leading up to a private house
From this reading A team stopped by the gate of the driveway.
one or the other of two
From this reading Mr. Chipmunk did not care to talk, either.
a movable barrier in a fence or wall
From this reading A team stopped by the gate of the driveway.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading He believed in thinking before you speak, and he had a great deal of thinking to do just then.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He believed in thinking before you speak, and he had a great deal of thinking to do just then.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He believed in thinking before you speak, and he had a great deal of thinking to do just then.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Silvertip did not look until the Milkman was near him carrying the milk bottles.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He believed in thinking before you speak, and he had a great deal of thinking to do just then.
and nothing more
From this reading He believed in thinking before you speak, and he had a great deal of thinking to do just then.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Mr. Chipmunk dared not look to see what was coming.
a white nutritious liquid secreted by mammals and used as food by human beings
From this reading Silvertip did not look until the Milkman was near him carrying the milk bottles.
someone who delivers milk
From this reading Silvertip did not look until the Milkman was near him carrying the milk bottles.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Chipmunk did not care to talk, either.
near in time or place or relationship
From this reading Silvertip did not look until the Milkman was near him carrying the milk bottles.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Mr. Chipmunk did not care to talk, either.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He believed in thinking before you speak, and he had a great deal of thinking to do just then.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Mr. Chipmunk dared not look to see what was coming.
powerful brownish-yellow bear of the uplands of western North America
From this reading Silvertip did not look until the Milkman was near him carrying the milk bottles.
express in speech
From this reading He believed in thinking before you speak, and he had a great deal of thinking to do just then.
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading A team stopped by the gate of the driveway.
exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading Mr. Chipmunk did not care to talk, either.
a cooperative unit (especially in sports)
From this reading A team stopped by the gate of the driveway.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A team stopped by the gate of the driveway.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading He believed in thinking before you speak, and he had a great deal of thinking to do just then.
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading He believed in thinking before you speak, and he had a great deal of thinking to do just then.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mr. Chipmunk did not care to talk, either.
up to a particular time
From this reading Silvertip did not look until the Milkman was near him carrying the milk bottles.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Mr. Chipmunk dared not look to see what was coming.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Mr. Chipmunk dared not look to see what was coming.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading He believed in thinking before you speak, and he had a great deal of thinking to do just then.
Chapter 4 of Dooryard Stories by Clara Dillingham Pierson holds 448 sentences, grouped into 90 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 4 holds 448 sentences of Dooryard Stories, unabridged, divided into 90 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Dooryard Stories by Clara Dillingham Pierson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 448 sentences, grouped into 90 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 90 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 90 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 4 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 Dooryard Stories by Clara Dillingham Pierson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2288 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42035 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #42035, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 190 minutes of reading across 458 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Dooryard Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Dooryard Stories 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 Dooryard Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
