Chapter 4 of Grim Tales is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Grim Tales is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again. I stroked her hair. "Come, Pussy, you're over-tired. The housework has been too much for you." She loosened her clasp a little and drew a deep breath.
Chapter 4 of Grim Tales is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
hold firmly and tightly
From this reading “She loosened her clasp a little and drew a deep breath.”
inflected form of “fling” — throw with force or recklessness
From this reading “I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.”
the work of cleaning and running a house
From this reading “The housework has been too much for you."”
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 “I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.”
straightened out
From this reading “She loosened her clasp a little and drew a deep breath.”
the part of an organism (human or animal) that connects the head to the rest of the body
From this reading “I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.”
obscene terms for female genitals
From this reading “"Come, Pussy, you're over-tired.”
past form of “stroke” — touch lightly and repeatedly, as with brushing motions
From this reading “I stroked her hair.”
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 “She loosened her clasp a little and drew a deep breath.”
In this reading “I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.”
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 She loosened her clasp a little and drew a deep breath.
anew
From this reading I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading The housework has been too much for you."
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading She loosened her clasp a little and drew a deep breath.
hold firmly and tightly
From this reading She loosened her clasp a little and drew a deep breath.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Come, Pussy, you're over-tired.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading She loosened her clasp a little and drew a deep breath.
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading She loosened her clasp a little and drew a deep breath.
inflected form of “fling” — throw with force or recklessness
From this reading I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The housework has been too much for you."
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading I stroked her hair.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The housework has been too much for you."
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
the work of cleaning and running a house
From this reading The housework has been too much for you."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
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 I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading She loosened her clasp a little and drew a deep breath.
straightened out
From this reading She loosened her clasp a little and drew a deep breath.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading The housework has been too much for you."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
the part of an organism (human or animal) that connects the head to the rest of the body
From this reading I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Come, Pussy, you're over-tired.
obscene terms for female genitals
From this reading "Come, Pussy, you're over-tired.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
past form of “stroke” — touch lightly and repeatedly, as with brushing motions
From this reading I stroked her hair.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The housework has been too much for you."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading The housework has been too much for you."
the act of changing or reversing the direction of the course
From this reading I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
at the time that
From this reading I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading I kissed her and was turning to go, when she flung her arms round my neck, and held me as if she would never let me go again.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading The housework has been too much for you."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Come, Pussy, you're over-tired.
Chapter 4 of Grim Tales by E. (Edith) Nesbit holds 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 4 holds 408 sentences of Grim Tales, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Grim Tales by E. (Edith) Nesbit exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 4 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 Grim Tales by E. (Edith) Nesbit on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1647 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #40321 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #40321, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 137 minutes of reading across 330 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Grim Tales section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of Grim Tales 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 Grim Tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
