Chapter 9 of Down the Snow Stairs is here in full — 111 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Down the Snow Stairs is here in full — 111 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
LOVE SPEAKS. HUSH! Kitty heard a sound. It was at first like that of the wind rising; it grew more distinct, and it was that of a hustling and a bustling. Little feet running, little feet shuffling; their airy tread sounded in every direction; it came from the right, it came from the left, it came from all around.
Chapter 9 of Down the Snow Stairs is here in full — 111 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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.
open to or abounding in fresh air
From this reading “Little feet running, little feet shuffling; their airy tread sounded in every direction; it came from the right, it came from the left, it came from all around.”
full of energetic and noisy activity
From this reading “It was at first like that of the wind rising; it grew more distinct, and it was that of a hustling and a bustling.”
(often followed by “from”) not alike; different in nature or quality
From this reading “It was at first like that of the wind rising; it grew more distinct, and it was that of a hustling and a bustling.”
-ing form of “hustle” — cause to move furtively and hurriedly
From this reading “It was at first like that of the wind rising; it grew more distinct, and it was that of a hustling and a bustling.”
the combined stakes of the betters
From this reading “Kitty heard a sound.”
walking with a slow dragging motion without lifting your feet
From this reading “Little feet running, little feet shuffling; their airy tread sounded in every direction; it came from the right, it came from the left, it came from all around.”
third-person singular of “speak” — express in speech
From this reading “LOVE SPEAKS.”
put down or press the foot, place the foot
From this reading “Little feet running, little feet shuffling; their airy tread sounded in every direction; it came from the right, it came from the left, it came from all around.”
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 “It was at first like that of the wind rising; it grew more distinct, and it was that of a hustling and a bustling.”
In this reading “Little feet running, little feet shuffling; their airy tread sounded in every direction; it came from the right, it came from the left, it came from all around.”
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 Kitty heard a sound.
open to or abounding in fresh air
From this reading Little feet running, little feet shuffling; their airy tread sounded in every direction; it came from the right, it came from the left, it came from all around.
(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 Little feet running, little feet shuffling; their airy tread sounded in every direction; it came from the right, it came from the left, it came from all around.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading It was at first like that of the wind rising; it grew more distinct, and it was that of a hustling and a bustling.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading Little feet running, little feet shuffling; their airy tread sounded in every direction; it came from the right, it came from the left, it came from all around.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It was at first like that of the wind rising; it grew more distinct, and it was that of a hustling and a bustling.
full of energetic and noisy activity
From this reading It was at first like that of the wind rising; it grew more distinct, and it was that of a hustling and a bustling.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Little feet running, little feet shuffling; their airy tread sounded in every direction; it came from the right, it came from the left, it came from all around.
a line leading to a place or point
From this reading Little feet running, little feet shuffling; their airy tread sounded in every direction; it came from the right, it came from the left, it came from all around.
(often followed by “from”) not alike; different in nature or quality
From this reading It was at first like that of the wind rising; it grew more distinct, and it was that of a hustling and a bustling.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Little feet running, little feet shuffling; their airy tread sounded in every direction; it came from the right, it came from the left, it came from all around.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading Little feet running, little feet shuffling; their airy tread sounded in every direction; it came from the right, it came from the left, it came from all around.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading It was at first like that of the wind rising; it grew more distinct, and it was that of a hustling and a bustling.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Little feet running, little feet shuffling; their airy tread sounded in every direction; it came from the right, it came from the left, it came from all around.
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading It was at first like that of the wind rising; it grew more distinct, and it was that of a hustling and a bustling.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Kitty heard a sound.
become quiet or still; fall silent
From this reading HUSH!
-ing form of “hustle” — cause to move furtively and hurriedly
From this reading It was at first like that of the wind rising; it grew more distinct, and it was that of a hustling and a bustling.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Little feet running, little feet shuffling; their airy tread sounded in every direction; it came from the right, it came from the left, it came from all around.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was at first like that of the wind rising; it grew more distinct, and it was that of a hustling and a bustling.
the combined stakes of the betters
From this reading Kitty heard a sound.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading Little feet running, little feet shuffling; their airy tread sounded in every direction; it came from the right, it came from the left, it came from all around.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading It was at first like that of the wind rising; it grew more distinct, and it was that of a hustling and a bustling.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Little feet running, little feet shuffling; their airy tread sounded in every direction; it came from the right, it came from the left, it came from all around.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading LOVE SPEAKS.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading It was at first like that of the wind rising; it grew more distinct, and it was that of a hustling and a bustling.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was at first like that of the wind rising; it grew more distinct, and it was that of a hustling and a bustling.
precisely, exactly
From this reading Little feet running, little feet shuffling; their airy tread sounded in every direction; it came from the right, it came from the left, it came from all around.
advancing or becoming higher or greater in degree or value or status
From this reading It was at first like that of the wind rising; it grew more distinct, and it was that of a hustling and a bustling.
(of fluids) moving or issuing in a stream
From this reading Little feet running, little feet shuffling; their airy tread sounded in every direction; it came from the right, it came from the left, it came from all around.
walking with a slow dragging motion without lifting your feet
From this reading Little feet running, little feet shuffling; their airy tread sounded in every direction; it came from the right, it came from the left, it came from all around.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading Kitty heard a sound.
past form of “sound” — appear in a certain way
From this reading Little feet running, little feet shuffling; their airy tread sounded in every direction; it came from the right, it came from the left, it came from all around.
third-person singular of “speak” — express in speech
From this reading LOVE SPEAKS.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was at first like that of the wind rising; it grew more distinct, and it was that of a hustling and a bustling.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was at first like that of the wind rising; it grew more distinct, and it was that of a hustling and a bustling.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Little feet running, little feet shuffling; their airy tread sounded in every direction; it came from the right, it came from the left, it came from all around.
put down or press the foot, place the foot
From this reading Little feet running, little feet shuffling; their airy tread sounded in every direction; it came from the right, it came from the left, it came from all around.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was at first like that of the wind rising; it grew more distinct, and it was that of a hustling and a bustling.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading It was at first like that of the wind rising; it grew more distinct, and it was that of a hustling and a bustling.
Chapter 9 of Down the Snow Stairs by Alice Corkran holds 111 sentences, grouped into 23 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 9 holds 111 sentences of Down the Snow Stairs, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Down the Snow Stairs by Alice Corkran exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 111 sentences, grouped into 23 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 23 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 23 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 9 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.
