Chapter 3 of Fennel and Rue is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Fennel and Rue is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Not the least." His mother stooped over and kissed him where he lay smiling. "Well, that's good. After all, it's you I cared for. Now I can say good-night."
Chapter 3 of Fennel and Rue is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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.
past form of “care” — feel concern or interest
From this reading “After all, it's you I cared for.”
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading “His mother stooped over and kissed him where he lay smiling.”
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading “His mother stooped over and kissed him where he lay smiling.”
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading “"Not the least."”
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading “His mother stooped over and kissed him where he lay smiling.”
express in words
From this reading “Now I can say good-night."”
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading “His mother stooped over and kissed him where he lay smiling.”
having the back and shoulders rounded; not erect
From this reading “His mother stooped over and kissed him where he lay smiling.”
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.
later than; following
From this reading After all, it's you I cared for.
(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 After all, it's you I cared for.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading His mother stooped over and kissed him where he lay smiling.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Now I can say good-night."
past form of “care” — feel concern or interest
From this reading After all, it's you I cared for.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading After all, it's you I cared for.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "Well, that's good.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now I can say good-night."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading His mother stooped over and kissed him where he lay smiling.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading His mother stooped over and kissed him where he lay smiling.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His mother stooped over and kissed him where he lay smiling.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading After all, it's you I cared for.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading After all, it's you I cared for.
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading His mother stooped over and kissed him where he lay smiling.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading His mother stooped over and kissed him where he lay smiling.
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading "Not the least."
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading His mother stooped over and kissed him where he lay smiling.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Not the least."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now I can say good-night."
above and across; more than
From this reading His mother stooped over and kissed him where he lay smiling.
express in words
From this reading Now I can say good-night."
a facial expression characterized by turning up the corners of the mouth; usually shows pleasure or amusement
From this reading His mother stooped over and kissed him where he lay smiling.
having the back and shoulders rounded; not erect
From this reading His mother stooped over and kissed him where he lay smiling.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well, that's good.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Not the least."
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "Well, that's good.
in or at the place that
From this reading His mother stooped over and kissed him where he lay smiling.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading After all, it's you I cared for.
Chapter 3 of Fennel and Rue by William Dean Howells holds 196 sentences, grouped into 40 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 3 holds 196 sentences of Fennel and Rue, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Fennel and Rue by William Dean Howells exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 196 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 3 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 Fennel and Rue by William Dean Howells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2136 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3363 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3363, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 178 minutes of reading across 428 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Fennel and Rue section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Fennel and Rue 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 Fennel and Rue, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
