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Letters from My Windmill
Letters from My Windmill

Chapter IV

Chapter 4 of Letters from My Windmill is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for Letters from My Windmill
Context Illustration Reading 1/78 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
"The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.
"I saw Catarinet ... that little vixen ... with her nose in the air ... who slept _alone_ in the barn....
You remember that, you rascals!...
But let's move on, I've said too much already.
"I saw Pascal Doigt-de-Poix, who made his olive oil--with monsieur Julien's olives!
0:00 / 0:00
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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.

Letters from My Windmill

Chapter IV

Chapter 4 of Letters from My Windmill is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/78 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
"The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.
Line 2
"I saw Catarinet ... that little vixen ... with her nose in the air ... who slept _alone_ in the barn....
Line 3
You remember that, you rascals!...
/juː rɪˈmɛm.bər ðæt juː ˈræskəlz/
Line 4
But let's move on, I've said too much already.
Line 5
"I saw Pascal Doigt-de-Poix, who made his olive oil--with monsieur Julien's olives!

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.

barn noun US /bɑːrn/

an outlying farm building for storing grain or animal feed and housing farm animals

From this reading “"I saw Catarinet ... that little vixen ... with her nose in the air ... who slept _alone_ in the barn....”

lanky adjective US /ˈlæŋki/

tall and thin and having long slender limbs

From this reading “"The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.”

olive adjective US /ˈɑːləv/

of a yellow-green color similar to that of an unripe olive

From this reading “"I saw Pascal Doigt-de-Poix, who made his olive oil--with monsieur Julien's olives!”

olives noun US /ˈɑːlɪvz/

plural of “olive” — small ovoid fruit of the European olive tree; important food and source of oil

From this reading “"I saw Pascal Doigt-de-Poix, who made his olive oil--with monsieur Julien's olives!”

Pascal noun US /pæˈskæl/

a unit of pressure equal to one newton per square meter

From this reading “"I saw Pascal Doigt-de-Poix, who made his olive oil--with monsieur Julien's olives!”

rascals noun US /ˈræskəlz/

plural of “rascal” — a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel

From this reading “You remember that, you rascals!...”

regularly adverb US /ˈreɡjələrli/

in a regular manner

From this reading “"The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.”

vixen noun US /ˈvɪksɪn/

a malicious woman with a fierce temper

From this reading “"I saw Catarinet ... that little vixen ... with her nose in the air ... who slept _alone_ in the barn....”

Word partnerships in these lines

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 the barn preposition + article + noun counted as “in … barn”

In this reading “"I saw Catarinet ... that little vixen ... with her nose in the air ... who slept _alone_ in the barn....”

in the air preposition + article + noun counted as “in … air”

on everybody's mind

In this reading “"I saw Catarinet ... that little vixen ... with her nose in the air ... who slept _alone_ in the barn....”

move on verb + particle

move forward, also in the metaphorical sense

In this reading “But let's move on, I've said too much already.”

All words in this reading · 57

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.

airnounUS /er/

a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of

From this reading "I saw Catarinet ... that little vixen ... with her nose in the air ... who slept _alone_ in the barn....

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 "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

aloneadjectiveUS /əˈloʊn/

Having no one else present.

From this reading "I saw Catarinet ... that little vixen ... with her nose in the air ... who slept _alone_ in the barn....

alreadyadverbUS /ɔːlˈredi/

prior to a specified or implied time

From this reading But let's move on, I've said too much already.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

barnnounUS /bɑːrn/

an outlying farm building for storing grain or animal feed and housing farm animals

From this reading "I saw Catarinet ... that little vixen ... with her nose in the air ... who slept _alone_ in the barn....

bellsnounUS /belz/

plural of “bell” — a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

brothersnounUS /ˈbrʌðərz/

plural of “brother” — a male with the same parents as someone else

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

ButconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading But let's move on, I've said too much already.

Catarinet

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "I saw Catarinet ... that little vixen ... with her nose in the air ... who slept _alone_ in the barn....

Clairon

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

Coq-Galine

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

Doigt-de-Poix

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "I saw Pascal Doigt-de-Poix, who made his olive oil--with monsieur Julien's olives!

drunkadjectiveUS /drʌŋk/

stupefied or excited by a chemical substance (especially alcohol)

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading "I saw Catarinet ... that little vixen ... with her nose in the air ... who slept _alone_ in the barn....

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

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

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

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

From this reading "I saw Catarinet ... that little vixen ... with her nose in the air ... who slept _alone_ in the barn....

I've

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But let's move on, I've said too much already.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading "I saw Catarinet ... that little vixen ... with her nose in the air ... who slept _alone_ in the barn....

Julien's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading "I saw Pascal Doigt-de-Poix, who made his olive oil--with monsieur Julien's olives!

knewverbUS /nuː/

inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

knockedverbUS /nɑːkt/

past form of “knock” — deliver a sharp blow or push

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

lankyadjectiveUS /ˈlæŋki/

tall and thin and having long slender limbs

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

let's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But let's move on, I've said too much already.

littleadjectiveUS /ˈlɪtəl/

limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

From this reading "I saw Catarinet ... that little vixen ... with her nose in the air ... who slept _alone_ in the barn....

madeadjectiveUS /meɪd/

produced by a manufacturing process

From this reading "I saw Pascal Doigt-de-Poix, who made his olive oil--with monsieur Julien's olives!

monsieurnounUS /məˈsjɜːr/

used as a French courtesy title; equivalent to English “Mr”

From this reading "I saw Pascal Doigt-de-Poix, who made his olive oil--with monsieur Julien's olives!

moveverbUS /muːv/

change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically

From this reading But let's move on, I've said too much already.

muchadverbUS /mʌtʃ/

to a great degree or extent

From this reading But let's move on, I've said too much already.

mydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

nosenounUS /noʊz/

the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals

From this reading "I saw Catarinet ... that little vixen ... with her nose in the air ... who slept _alone_ in the barn....

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

oftenadverbUS /ˈɔːfən/

many times at short intervals

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

oilnounUS /ɔɪl/

A viscous liquid derived from petroleum or plants, stored in large earthen jars.

From this reading "I saw Pascal Doigt-de-Poix, who made his olive oil--with monsieur Julien's olives!

oliveadjectiveUS /ˈɑːləv/

of a yellow-green color similar to that of an unripe olive

From this reading "I saw Pascal Doigt-de-Poix, who made his olive oil--with monsieur Julien's olives!

olivesnounUS /ˈɑːlɪvz/

plural of “olive” — small ovoid fruit of the European olive tree; important food and source of oil

From this reading "I saw Pascal Doigt-de-Poix, who made his olive oil--with monsieur Julien's olives!

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading But let's move on, I've said too much already.

outadjectiveUS /aʊt/

not allowed to continue to bat or run

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

PascalnounUS /pæˈskæl/

a unit of pressure equal to one newton per square meter

From this reading "I saw Pascal Doigt-de-Poix, who made his olive oil--with monsieur Julien's olives!

pooradjectiveUS /puːr/

deserving or inciting pity

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

rascalsnounUS /ˈræskəlz/

plural of “rascal” — a deceitful and unreliable scoundrel

From this reading You remember that, you rascals!...

regularlyadverbUS /ˈreɡjələrli/

in a regular manner

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

rememberverbUS /rɪˈmɛm.bər/

To recall to mind.

From this reading You remember that, you rascals!...

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading But let's move on, I've said too much already.

sawverbUS /sɔː/

cut with a saw

From this reading "I saw Catarinet ... that little vixen ... with her nose in the air ... who slept _alone_ in the barn....

sleptverbUS /slept/

inflected form of “sleep” — be asleep

From this reading "I saw Catarinet ... that little vixen ... with her nose in the air ... who slept _alone_ in the barn....

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

tennounUS /ten/

the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading "I saw Catarinet ... that little vixen ... with her nose in the air ... who slept _alone_ in the barn....

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

tooadverbUS /tuː/

to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits

From this reading But let's move on, I've said too much already.

vixennounUS /ˈvɪksɪn/

a malicious woman with a fierce temper

From this reading "I saw Catarinet ... that little vixen ... with her nose in the air ... who slept _alone_ in the barn....

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading "I saw Catarinet ... that little vixen ... with her nose in the air ... who slept _alone_ in the barn....

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading "The lanky Coq-Galine--you all knew him, my brothers--Coq-Galine, who was regularly drunk, and so often knocked ten bells out of his poor Clairon.

Chapter 4 of Letters from My Windmill by Alphonse Daudet holds 393 sentences, grouped into 79 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 4 of Letters from My Windmill contain?

Chapter 4 holds 393 sentences of Letters from My Windmill, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 4 of Letters from My Windmill by Alphonse Daudet exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 393 sentences, grouped into 79 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 4 of Letters from My Windmill?

Work through the 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 79 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 4 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading Letters from My Windmill

Common questions about reading Letters from My Windmill by Alphonse Daudet on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Letters from My Windmill?

Yes. All 2978 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30442 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Letters from My Windmill is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #30442, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Letters from My Windmill take to read?

About 248 minutes of reading across 596 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Letters from My Windmill section by section

How to work through Letters from My Windmill section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 7 chapters of Letters from My Windmill 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 Letters from My Windmill

Words and structures a reader meets early in Letters from My Windmill, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Lighthouse
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Letters from My Windmill; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Sanguinaires
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Letters from My Windmill; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Wreck
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Letters from My Windmill; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Millante
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Letters from My Windmill; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.