Chapter 4 of Irish Fairy Tales is here in full — 46 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Irish Fairy Tales is here in full — 46 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“OLD age again overtook me. Weariness stole into my limbs, and anguish dozed into my mind. I went to my Ulster cave and dreamed my dream, and I changed into a hawk. “I left the ground. The sweet air was my kingdom, and my bright eye stared on a hundred miles.
Chapter 4 of Irish Fairy Tales is here in full — 46 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/9 · 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.
extreme mental distress
From this reading “Weariness stole into my limbs, and anguish dozed into my mind.”
past form of “doze” — sleep lightly or for a short period of time
From this reading “Weariness stole into my limbs, and anguish dozed into my mind.”
conceived of or imagined or hoped for
From this reading “I went to my Ulster cave and dreamed my dream, and I changed into a hawk.”
diurnal bird of prey typically having short rounded wings and a long tail
From this reading “I went to my Ulster cave and dreamed my dream, and I changed into a hawk.”
plural of “limb” — one of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper
From this reading “Weariness stole into my limbs, and anguish dozed into my mind.”
inflected form of “overtake” — catch up with and possibly overtake
From this reading ““OLD age again overtook me.”
a historic division of Ireland located in the northeastern part of the island; six of Ulster's nine counties are in Northern Ireland
From this reading “I went to my Ulster cave and dreamed my dream, and I changed into a hawk.”
temporary loss of strength and energy resulting from hard physical or mental work
From this reading “Weariness stole into my limbs, and anguish dozed into my mind.”
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 I went to my Ulster cave and dreamed my dream, and I changed into a hawk.
anew
From this reading “OLD age again overtook me.
how long something has existed
From this reading “OLD age again overtook me.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading The sweet air was my kingdom, and my bright eye stared on a hundred miles.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Weariness stole into my limbs, and anguish dozed into my mind.
extreme mental distress
From this reading Weariness stole into my limbs, and anguish dozed into my mind.
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading The sweet air was my kingdom, and my bright eye stared on a hundred miles.
a geological formation consisting of an underground enclosure with access from the surface of the ground or from the sea
From this reading I went to my Ulster cave and dreamed my dream, and I changed into a hawk.
made or become different in nature or form
From this reading I went to my Ulster cave and dreamed my dream, and I changed into a hawk.
past form of “doze” — sleep lightly or for a short period of time
From this reading Weariness stole into my limbs, and anguish dozed into my mind.
A series of thoughts, images, or emotions during sleep.
From this reading I went to my Ulster cave and dreamed my dream, and I changed into a hawk.
conceived of or imagined or hoped for
From this reading I went to my Ulster cave and dreamed my dream, and I changed into a hawk.
the organ of sight
From this reading The sweet air was my kingdom, and my bright eye stared on a hundred miles.
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading “I left the ground.
diurnal bird of prey typically having short rounded wings and a long tail
From this reading I went to my Ulster cave and dreamed my dream, and I changed into a hawk.
ten 10s
From this reading The sweet air was my kingdom, and my bright eye stared on a hundred miles.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I went to my Ulster cave and dreamed my dream, and I changed into a hawk.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Weariness stole into my limbs, and anguish dozed into my mind.
a domain in which something is dominant
From this reading The sweet air was my kingdom, and my bright eye stared on a hundred miles.
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading “I left the ground.
plural of “limb” — one of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper
From this reading Weariness stole into my limbs, and anguish dozed into my mind.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “OLD age again overtook me.
plural of “mile” — a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading The sweet air was my kingdom, and my bright eye stared on a hundred miles.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading Weariness stole into my limbs, and anguish dozed into my mind.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Weariness stole into my limbs, and anguish dozed into my mind.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading “OLD age again overtook me.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The sweet air was my kingdom, and my bright eye stared on a hundred miles.
inflected form of “overtake” — catch up with and possibly overtake
From this reading “OLD age again overtook me.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading The sweet air was my kingdom, and my bright eye stared on a hundred miles.
a wide scarf worn about their shoulders by women
From this reading Weariness stole into my limbs, and anguish dozed into my mind.
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading The sweet air was my kingdom, and my bright eye stared on a hundred miles.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “I left the ground.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I went to my Ulster cave and dreamed my dream, and I changed into a hawk.
a historic division of Ireland located in the northeastern part of the island; six of Ulster's nine counties are in Northern Ireland
From this reading I went to my Ulster cave and dreamed my dream, and I changed into a hawk.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The sweet air was my kingdom, and my bright eye stared on a hundred miles.
temporary loss of strength and energy resulting from hard physical or mental work
From this reading Weariness stole into my limbs, and anguish dozed into my mind.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading I went to my Ulster cave and dreamed my dream, and I changed into a hawk.
Chapter 4 of Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens holds 46 sentences, grouped into 10 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 4 holds 46 sentences of Irish Fairy Tales, unabridged, divided into 10 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 46 sentences, grouped into 10 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 10 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 10 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 Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3329 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2892 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2892, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 277 minutes of reading across 666 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Irish Fairy Tales section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Irish Fairy 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 Irish Fairy Tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
