Chapter 2 of Down the Snow Stairs is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Down the Snow Stairs is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
KITTY AND JOHNNIE. HUSH! The night-gowned, barefooted small figure crept down the wide staircase. Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners. There was a colored window on that staircase.
Chapter 2 of Down the Snow Stairs is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
having color or a certain color; sometimes used in combination
From this reading “There was a colored window on that staircase.”
plural of “corner” — a place off to the side of an area
From this reading “Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.”
inflected form of “creep” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading “The night-gowned, barefooted small figure crept down the wide staircase.”
past form of “glitter” — be shiny, as if wet
From this reading “Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.”
become quiet or still; fall silent
From this reading “HUSH!”
the combined stakes of the betters
From this reading “KITTY AND JOHNNIE.”
a way of access (upward and downward) consisting of a set of steps
From this reading “The night-gowned, barefooted small figure crept down the wide staircase.”
plural of “star” — (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading “Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.”
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.
the time when the Moon is fully illuminated
In this reading “Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.”
In this reading “The night-gowned, barefooted small figure crept down the wide staircase.”
In this reading “The night-gowned, barefooted small figure crept down the wide staircase.”
to cause inconvenience or discomfort to
In this reading “Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.”
In this reading “Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.”
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 There was a colored window on that staircase.
(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 Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading KITTY AND JOHNNIE.
without shoes
From this reading The night-gowned, barefooted small figure crept down the wide staircase.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
having color or a certain color; sometimes used in combination
From this reading There was a colored window on that staircase.
plural of “corner” — a place off to the side of an area
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
inflected form of “creep” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading The night-gowned, barefooted small figure crept down the wide staircase.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The night-gowned, barefooted small figure crept down the wide staircase.
apart from; not including
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading The night-gowned, barefooted small figure crept down the wide staircase.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
past form of “glitter” — be shiny, as if wet
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
become quiet or still; fall silent
From this reading HUSH!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading KITTY AND JOHNNIE.
the combined stakes of the betters
From this reading KITTY AND JOHNNIE.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
the natural satellite of the Earth
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The night-gowned, barefooted small figure crept down the wide staircase.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading There was a colored window on that staircase.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The night-gowned, barefooted small figure crept down the wide staircase.
precipitation falling from clouds in the form of ice crystals
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
a way of access (upward and downward) consisting of a set of steps
From this reading The night-gowned, barefooted small figure crept down the wide staircase.
plural of “star” — (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The night-gowned, barefooted small figure crept down the wide staircase.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a colored window on that staircase.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading The night-gowned, barefooted small figure crept down the wide staircase.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading There was a colored window on that staircase.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Outside, the garden covered with snow glittered under the light of the big, beautiful full moon; it was so bright that it put out all the stars except those in far-away corners.
Chapter 2 of Down the Snow Stairs by Alice Corkran holds 202 sentences, grouped into 41 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 2 holds 202 sentences of Down the Snow Stairs, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Down the Snow Stairs by Alice Corkran exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 202 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 2 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 Down the Snow Stairs by Alice Corkran on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2639 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #57413 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #57413, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 219 minutes of reading across 528 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Down the Snow Stairs section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Down the Snow Stairs 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 Down the Snow Stairs, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
