Chapter 1 of Fairies Afield is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Fairies Afield is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD. 155 Sloane Street, S.W. _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters. If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.
Chapter 1 of Fairies Afield is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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.
a nation in northern North America; the French were the first Europeans to settle in mainland Canada
From this reading “OF CANADA, LTD.”
a small house with a single story
From this reading “_May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.”
inflected form of “envy” — feel envious towards; admire enviously
From this reading “If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.”
to certain extent or degree
From this reading “_May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.”
clean or organized
From this reading “_May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.”
plural of “sister” — a female person who has the same parents as another person
From this reading “_May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.”
possessive form of “summer” — the warmest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox
From this reading “If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.”
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading “If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.”
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.
a girl or young woman who is unmarried
In this reading “_May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.”
In this reading “If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.”
In this reading “If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.”
In this reading “_May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.”
live in the house where one works
In this reading “_May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 155 Sloane Street, S.W.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.
in the past
From this reading _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.
a nation in northern North America; the French were the first Europeans to settle in mainland Canada
From this reading OF CANADA, LTD.
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading THE MACMILLAN CO.
a small house with a single story
From this reading _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.
inflected form of “envy” — feel envious towards; admire enviously
From this reading If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.
to certain extent or degree
From this reading _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.
destroyed or killed
From this reading If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.
past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.
(often followed by “of”) a large number or amount or extent
From this reading If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading OF CANADA, LTD.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE MACMILLAN CO.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.
clean or organized
From this reading _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading OF CANADA, LTD.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.
on one occasion
From this reading _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading 155 Sloane Street, S.W.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.
plural of “sister” — a female person who has the same parents as another person
From this reading _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 155 Sloane Street, S.W.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading 155 Sloane Street, S.W.
possessive form of “summer” — the warmest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox
From this reading If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MACMILLAN CO.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.
in or at that place or location
From this reading _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.
a heavy grey-white metallic element; the pure form is used mainly in electrical applications; it is found in several ores including wolframite and scheelite
From this reading 155 Sloane Street, S.W.
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.
which person or people
From this reading _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading If you had gone to see them on a bright warm summer's day, I daresay you would have envied them and their life and their lot.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading _May 8, 1911._ Once upon a time--a fairly long ago time--there lived in a neat little cottage two young girls who were sisters.
Chapter 1 of Fairies Afield by Mrs. Molesworth holds 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 1 holds 424 sentences of Fairies Afield, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Fairies Afield by Mrs. Molesworth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 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.
Common questions about reading Fairies Afield by Mrs. Molesworth on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2967 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39167 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39167, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 247 minutes of reading across 594 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Fairies Afield section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Fairies Afield 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 Fairies Afield, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
