Chapter 2 of Little Bobtail is here in full — 193 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Little Bobtail is here in full — 193 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE END OF A SAD STORY. In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway. Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him. She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well. Nothing was needed to make her happy but his presence.
Chapter 2 of Little Bobtail is here in full — 193 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
exhale abruptly, as when one has a chest cold or congestion
From this reading “She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.”
King of England and Ireland in 1936; his marriage to Wallis Warfield Simpson created a constitutional crisis leading to his abdication (1894-1972)
From this reading “In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.”
wearing protective mail
From this reading “In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.”
necessary for relief or supply
From this reading “Nothing was needed to make her happy but his presence.”
a city on the Loire river in north central France; site of the siege of Orleans by the English (1428-1429)
From this reading “Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.”
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading “THE END OF A SAD STORY.”
inflected form of “sleep” — be asleep
From this reading “She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.”
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading “In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.”
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 THE END OF A SAD STORY.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.
react verbally
From this reading Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Nothing was needed to make her happy but his presence.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.
exhale abruptly, as when one has a chest cold or congestion
From this reading She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.
King of England and Ireland in 1936; his marriage to Wallis Warfield Simpson created a constitutional crisis leading to his abdication (1894-1972)
From this reading In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading THE END OF A SAD STORY.
to a complete degree or to the full or entire extent (“whole” is often used informally for “wholly”)
From this reading She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading Nothing was needed to make her happy but his presence.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Nothing was needed to make her happy but his presence.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.
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 She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.
wearing protective mail
From this reading In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.
engage in
From this reading Nothing was needed to make her happy but his presence.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.
necessary for relief or supply
From this reading Nothing was needed to make her happy but his presence.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Nothing was needed to make her happy but his presence.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE END OF A SAD STORY.
a city on the Loire river in north central France; site of the siege of Orleans by the English (1428-1429)
From this reading Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.
the state of being present; current existence
From this reading Nothing was needed to make her happy but his presence.
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading THE END OF A SAD STORY.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.
inflected form of “sleep” — be asleep
From this reading She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading THE END OF A SAD STORY.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE END OF A SAD STORY.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.
any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading Before he had been in New Orleans a week her answer came to him.
(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 She was better; her cough had entirely left her, and she slept well.
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading In New York Edward Montague mailed a letter to Sara Medway.
Chapter 2 of Little Bobtail by Oliver Optic holds 193 sentences, grouped into 39 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 2 holds 193 sentences of Little Bobtail, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Little Bobtail by Oliver Optic exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 193 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 2 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 Little Bobtail by Oliver Optic on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3946 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #25466 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #25466, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 328 minutes of reading across 790 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Little Bobtail section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of Little Bobtail 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 Little Bobtail, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
