Chapter 4 of Kafir Stories: Seven Short Stories is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Kafir Stories: Seven Short Stories is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"The soldiers are dead, my King. Only this one and I are living. We were overcome by the Makalakas and the Balotsi. We slew them in crowds, but they were too many for us, and we had no food. I have brought the stone to show that I tried to do your bidding."
Chapter 4 of Kafir Stories: Seven Short Stories is here in full — 429 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
From this reading “I have brought the stone to show that I tried to do your bidding."”
plural of “crowd” — a large number of things or people considered together
From this reading “We slew them in crowds, but they were too many for us, and we had no food.”
any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue
From this reading “We slew them in crowds, but they were too many for us, and we had no food.”
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
From this reading “Only this one and I are living.”
win a victory over
From this reading “We were overcome by the Makalakas and the Balotsi.”
turn sharply; change direction abruptly
From this reading “We slew them in crowds, but they were too many for us, and we had no food.”
plural of “soldier” — an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
From this reading “"The soldiers are dead, my King.”
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading “I have brought the stone to show that I tried to do your bidding."”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Only this one and I are living.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "The soldiers are dead, my King.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We were overcome by the Makalakas and the Balotsi.
an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
From this reading I have brought the stone to show that I tried to do your bidding."
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading I have brought the stone to show that I tried to do your bidding."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading We slew them in crowds, but they were too many for us, and we had no food.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading We were overcome by the Makalakas and the Balotsi.
plural of “crowd” — a large number of things or people considered together
From this reading We slew them in crowds, but they were too many for us, and we had no food.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading "The soldiers are dead, my King.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading I have brought the stone to show that I tried to do your bidding."
any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue
From this reading We slew them in crowds, but they were too many for us, and we had no food.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading We slew them in crowds, but they were too many for us, and we had no food.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading We slew them in crowds, but they were too many for us, and we had no food.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I have brought the stone to show that I tried to do your bidding."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Only this one and I are living.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We slew them in crowds, but they were too many for us, and we had no food.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading "The soldiers are dead, my King.
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
From this reading Only this one and I are living.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We were overcome by the Makalakas and the Balotsi.
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 We slew them in crowds, but they were too many for us, and we had no food.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "The soldiers are dead, my King.
not any; not one
From this reading We slew them in crowds, but they were too many for us, and we had no food.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Only this one and I are living.
and nothing more
From this reading Only this one and I are living.
win a victory over
From this reading We were overcome by the Makalakas and the Balotsi.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading I have brought the stone to show that I tried to do your bidding."
turn sharply; change direction abruptly
From this reading We slew them in crowds, but they were too many for us, and we had no food.
plural of “soldier” — an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
From this reading "The soldiers are dead, my King.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading I have brought the stone to show that I tried to do your bidding."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I have brought the stone to show that I tried to do your bidding."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "The soldiers are dead, my King.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading We slew them in crowds, but they were too many for us, and we had no food.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading We slew them in crowds, but they were too many for us, and we had no food.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Only this one and I are living.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I have brought the stone to show that I tried to do your bidding."
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading We slew them in crowds, but they were too many for us, and we had no food.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading I have brought the stone to show that I tried to do your bidding."
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading We slew them in crowds, but they were too many for us, and we had no food.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We were overcome by the Makalakas and the Balotsi.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading We were overcome by the Makalakas and the Balotsi.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I have brought the stone to show that I tried to do your bidding."
Chapter 4 of Kafir Stories: Seven Short Stories by W. C. (William Charles) Scully holds 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 429 sentences of Kafir Stories: Seven Short Stories, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Kafir Stories: Seven Short Stories by W. C. (William Charles) Scully exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 429 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Kafir Stories: Seven Short Stories by W. C. (William Charles) Scully on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2128 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #20491 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #20491, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 177 minutes of reading across 426 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Kafir Stories: Seven Short Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Kafir Stories: Seven Short Stories 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 Kafir Stories: Seven Short Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
