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Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know
Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know

Chapter XXIII · Chapter 23

Chapter 23 of Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know is here in full — 926 sentences across 186 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know
Context Illustration Reading 1/185 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE LIGHT PRINCESS I _What!
No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.
I feel ill-used."
So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know

Chapter XXIII · Chapter 23

Chapter 23 of Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know is here in full — 926 sentences across 186 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/185 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THE LIGHT PRINCESS I _What!
/ðə laɪt ˈprɪn.ses aɪ wʌt/
Line 2
No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.
/noʊ ˈtʃɪldrən wʌns əˈpɑːn ə taɪm soʊ lɔːŋ əˈɡoʊ ðæt aɪ hæv kwaɪt fərˈɡɑːt.n̩ ðə deɪt ðer lɪvd ə kɪŋ ənd kwiːn huː hæd noʊ ˈtʃɪldrən/
Line 3
And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.
/ənd ðə kɪŋ sed tuː hɪmˈself ɔːl ðə kwiːnz ʌv maɪ əˈkweɪntəns hæv ˈtʃɪldrən sʌm θriː sʌm ˈsevən ənd sʌm æz ˈmeni æz twelv ənd maɪ kwiːn hæz nɑːt wʌn/
Line 4
I feel ill-used."
Line 5
So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.
/soʊ hiː meɪd ʌp hɪz maɪnd tuː biː krɔːs wɪð hɪz waɪf əˈbaʊt ɪt/

Learner Dictionary

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.

acquaintance noun US /əˈkweɪntəns/

personal knowledge or information about someone or something

From this reading “And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.”

cross verb US /krɔːs/

travel across or pass over

From this reading “So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.”

date noun US /deɪt/

the specified day of the month

From this reading “No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.”

forgotten adjective US /fərˈɡɑːt.n̩/

Not remembered; lapsed from memory.

From this reading “No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.”

princess noun US /ˈprɪn.ses/

The daughter of a monarch; a female member of a royal family.

From this reading “THE LIGHT PRINCESS I _What!”

queens noun US /kwiːnz/

a borough of New York City

From this reading “And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.”

seven noun US /ˈsevən/

the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one

From this reading “And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.”

twelve noun US /twelv/

the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one

From this reading “And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.”

All words in this reading · 56

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.

aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.

acquaintancenounUS /əˈkweɪntəns/

personal knowledge or information about someone or something

From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.

agoadverbUS /əˈɡoʊ/

in the past

From this reading No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.

AlladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.

ChildrennounUS /ˈtʃɪldrən/

plural of “child” — a young person of either sex

From this reading No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.

crossverbUS /krɔːs/

travel across or pass over

From this reading So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.

datenounUS /deɪt/

the specified day of the month

From this reading No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.

feelverbUS /fiːl/

undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind

From this reading I feel ill-used."

forgottenadjectiveUS /fərˈɡɑːt.n̩/

Not remembered; lapsed from memory.

From this reading No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.

hasauxiliary verbUS /hæz/

the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.

himselfpronounUS /hɪmˈself/

used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object

From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading THE LIGHT PRINCESS I _What!

ill-usedadjective

(of persons) taken advantage of

From this reading I feel ill-used."

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.

kingnounUS /kɪŋ/

a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom

From this reading No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.

LIGHTadjectiveUS /laɪt/

of comparatively little physical weight or density

From this reading THE LIGHT PRINCESS I _What!

livedverbUS /lɪvd/

past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in

From this reading No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.

longadjectiveUS /lɔːŋ/

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 No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.

madeadjectiveUS /meɪd/

produced by a manufacturing process

From this reading So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.

manyadjectiveUS /ˈmeni/

a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number

From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.

mindnounUS /maɪnd/

The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.

From this reading So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.

mydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.

NodeterminerUS /noʊ/

not any; not one

From this reading No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.

OnceadverbUS /wʌns/

on one occasion

From this reading No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.

PRINCESSnounUS /ˈprɪn.ses/

The daughter of a monarch; a female member of a royal family.

From this reading THE LIGHT PRINCESS I _What!

queennounUS /kwiːn/

the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs

From this reading No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.

queensnounUS /kwiːnz/

a borough of New York City

From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.

quiteadverbUS /kwaɪt/

to a degree (not used with a negative)

From this reading No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.

sevennounUS /ˈsevən/

the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one

From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.

someadjectiveUS /sʌm/

(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity

From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading THE LIGHT PRINCESS I _What!

thereadverbUS /ðer/

in or at that place or location

From this reading No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.

threenounUS /θriː/

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one

From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.

timenounUS /taɪm/

an instance or single occasion for some event

From this reading No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.

twelvenounUS /twelv/

the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one

From this reading And the king said to himself, "All the queens of my acquaintance have children, some three, some seven, and some as many as twelve; and my queen has not one.

upadjectiveUS /ʌp/

being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level

From this reading So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.

WhatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading THE LIGHT PRINCESS I _What!

whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading No Children?_ Once upon a time, so long ago that I have quite forgotten the date, there lived a king and queen who had no children.

wifenounUS /waɪf/

a married woman; a man's partner in marriage

From this reading So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading So he made up his mind to be cross with his wife about it.

Chapter 23 of Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know by Hamilton Wright [Editor] Mabie holds 926 sentences, grouped into 186 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.

What does chapter 23 of Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know contain?

Chapter 23 holds 926 sentences of Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know, unabridged, divided into 186 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 23 of Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know by Hamilton Wright [Editor] Mabie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 926 sentences, grouped into 186 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.

How do I study chapter 23 of Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know?

Work through the 186 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 186 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.

Can chapter 23 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 23 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.

Questions about reading Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know

Common questions about reading Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know by Hamilton Wright [Editor] Mabie on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know?

Yes. All 4087 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14916 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #14916, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know take to read?

About 340 minutes of reading across 818 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know section by section

How to work through Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 24 chapters of Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know

Words and structures a reader meets early in Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Woman
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Three
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Daughters
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Eldest
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.