Chapter 1 of Fairies I Have Met is here in full — 560 sentences across 112 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Fairies I Have Met is here in full — 560 sentences across 112 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Before Penelope could toddle she lived far away among the oleanders. The sunbeams who came down to see the oleanders saw Penelope too. She sat on the grass and played with them, and they loved her very much. One day the sunbeams were sad. "Penelope is going to England," they said to each other.
Chapter 1 of Fairies I Have Met is here in full — 560 sentences across 112 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/112 · 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 division of the United Kingdom
From this reading “"Penelope is going to England," they said to each other.”
shoot down, of birds
From this reading “She sat on the grass and played with them, and they loved her very much.”
past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading “Before Penelope could toddle she lived far away among the oleanders.”
held dear
From this reading “She sat on the grass and played with them, and they loved her very much.”
(Greek mythology) the wife of Odysseus and a symbol of devotion and fidelity; for 10 years while Odysseus fought the Trojan War she resisted numerous suitors until Odysseus returned and killed them
From this reading “Before Penelope could toddle she lived far away among the oleanders.”
(of games) engaged in
From this reading “She sat on the grass and played with them, and they loved her very much.”
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading “One day the sunbeams were sad.”
walk unsteadily
From this reading “Before Penelope could toddle she lived far away among the oleanders.”
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.
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
In this reading “The sunbeams who came down to see the oleanders saw Penelope too.”
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.
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading Before Penelope could toddle she lived far away among the oleanders.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She sat on the grass and played with them, and they loved her very much.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Before Penelope could toddle she lived far away among the oleanders.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Before Penelope could toddle she lived far away among the oleanders.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The sunbeams who came down to see the oleanders saw Penelope too.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Before Penelope could toddle she lived far away among the oleanders.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading One day the sunbeams were sad.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The sunbeams who came down to see the oleanders saw Penelope too.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading "Penelope is going to England," they said to each other.
a division of the United Kingdom
From this reading "Penelope is going to England," they said to each other.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading Before Penelope could toddle she lived far away among the oleanders.
the act of departing
From this reading "Penelope is going to England," they said to each other.
shoot down, of birds
From this reading She sat on the grass and played with them, and they loved her very much.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She sat on the grass and played with them, and they loved her very much.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Penelope is going to England," they said to each other.
past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading Before Penelope could toddle she lived far away among the oleanders.
held dear
From this reading She sat on the grass and played with them, and they loved her very much.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading She sat on the grass and played with them, and they loved her very much.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Before Penelope could toddle she lived far away among the oleanders.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She sat on the grass and played with them, and they loved her very much.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One day the sunbeams were sad.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading "Penelope is going to England," they said to each other.
(Greek mythology) the wife of Odysseus and a symbol of devotion and fidelity; for 10 years while Odysseus fought the Trojan War she resisted numerous suitors until Odysseus returned and killed them
From this reading Before Penelope could toddle she lived far away among the oleanders.
(of games) engaged in
From this reading She sat on the grass and played with them, and they loved her very much.
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading One day the sunbeams were sad.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Penelope is going to England," they said to each other.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading She sat on the grass and played with them, and they loved her very much.
cut with a saw
From this reading The sunbeams who came down to see the oleanders saw Penelope too.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading The sunbeams who came down to see the oleanders saw Penelope too.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Before Penelope could toddle she lived far away among the oleanders.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The sunbeams who came down to see the oleanders saw Penelope too.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Before Penelope could toddle she lived far away among the oleanders.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading She sat on the grass and played with them, and they loved her very much.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She sat on the grass and played with them, and they loved her very much.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The sunbeams who came down to see the oleanders saw Penelope too.
walk unsteadily
From this reading Before Penelope could toddle she lived far away among the oleanders.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading The sunbeams who came down to see the oleanders saw Penelope too.
precisely as stated
From this reading She sat on the grass and played with them, and they loved her very much.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading One day the sunbeams were sad.
which person or people
From this reading The sunbeams who came down to see the oleanders saw Penelope too.
in the company of; together with
From this reading She sat on the grass and played with them, and they loved her very much.
Chapter 1 of Fairies I Have Met by Rodolph, Mrs. Stawell holds 560 sentences, grouped into 112 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 560 sentences of Fairies I Have Met, unabridged, divided into 112 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Fairies I Have Met by Rodolph, Mrs. Stawell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 560 sentences, grouped into 112 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 112 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 112 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 I Have Met by Rodolph, Mrs. Stawell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1136 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #38252 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #38252, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 94 minutes of reading across 228 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Fairies I Have Met section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Fairies I Have Met 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 I Have Met, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
