Chapter 1 of Little Boy is here in full — 379 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Little Boy is here in full — 379 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_There are times when the animal in Mankind savagely asserts itself. Even children become snarling little beasts. Fortunately, however, in childhood laughter is not buried deep._ He dropped over the stone wall and flattened to the ground. He looked warily about him like a young wolf, head down, eyes up. His name was Steven--but he'd forgotten that.
Chapter 1 of Little Boy is here in full — 379 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/75 · 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.
third-person singular of “assert” — state categorically
From this reading “_There are times when the animal in Mankind savagely asserts itself.”
the time of person's life when they are a child
From this reading “Fortunately, however, in childhood laughter is not buried deep._ He dropped over the stone wall and flattened to the ground.”
having been flattened
From this reading “Fortunately, however, in childhood laughter is not buried deep._ He dropped over the stone wall and flattened to the ground.”
by good fortune
From this reading “Fortunately, however, in childhood laughter is not buried deep._ He dropped over the stone wall and flattened to the ground.”
all of the living human inhabitants of the earth
From this reading “_There are times when the animal in Mankind savagely asserts itself.”
in a vicious manner
From this reading “_There are times when the animal in Mankind savagely asserts itself.”
-ing form of “snarl” — utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading “Even children become snarling little beasts.”
in a wary manner
From this reading “He looked warily about him like a young wolf, head down, eyes up.”
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.
a fence built of rough stones; used to separate fields
In this reading “Fortunately, however, in childhood laughter is not buried deep._ He dropped over the stone wall and flattened to the ground.”
In this reading “Even children become snarling little beasts.”
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 He looked warily about him like a young wolf, head down, eyes up.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading He looked warily about him like a young wolf, head down, eyes up.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Fortunately, however, in childhood laughter is not buried deep._ He dropped over the stone wall and flattened to the ground.
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading _There are times when the animal in Mankind savagely asserts itself.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading _There are times when the animal in Mankind savagely asserts itself.
third-person singular of “assert” — state categorically
From this reading _There are times when the animal in Mankind savagely asserts itself.
plural of “beast” — a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading Even children become snarling little beasts.
enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading Even children become snarling little beasts.
placed in a grave
From this reading Fortunately, however, in childhood laughter is not buried deep._ He dropped over the stone wall and flattened to the ground.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading His name was Steven--but he'd forgotten that.
the time of person's life when they are a child
From this reading Fortunately, however, in childhood laughter is not buried deep._ He dropped over the stone wall and flattened to the ground.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading Even children become snarling little beasts.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading Fortunately, however, in childhood laughter is not buried deep._ He dropped over the stone wall and flattened to the ground.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading He looked warily about him like a young wolf, head down, eyes up.
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading Fortunately, however, in childhood laughter is not buried deep._ He dropped over the stone wall and flattened to the ground.
divisible by two
From this reading Even children become snarling little beasts.
opinion or judgment
From this reading He looked warily about him like a young wolf, head down, eyes up.
having been flattened
From this reading Fortunately, however, in childhood laughter is not buried deep._ He dropped over the stone wall and flattened to the ground.
Not remembered; lapsed from memory.
From this reading His name was Steven--but he'd forgotten that.
by good fortune
From this reading Fortunately, however, in childhood laughter is not buried deep._ He dropped over the stone wall and flattened to the ground.
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading Fortunately, however, in childhood laughter is not buried deep._ He dropped over the stone wall and flattened to the ground.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Fortunately, however, in childhood laughter is not buried deep._ He dropped over the stone wall and flattened to the ground.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading His name was Steven--but he'd forgotten that.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading He looked warily about him like a young wolf, head down, eyes up.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He looked warily about him like a young wolf, head down, eyes up.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading His name was Steven--but he'd forgotten that.
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading Fortunately, however, in childhood laughter is not buried deep._ He dropped over the stone wall and flattened to the ground.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading _There are times when the animal in Mankind savagely asserts itself.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Fortunately, however, in childhood laughter is not buried deep._ He dropped over the stone wall and flattened to the ground.
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading _There are times when the animal in Mankind savagely asserts itself.
the sound of laughing
From this reading Fortunately, however, in childhood laughter is not buried deep._ He dropped over the stone wall and flattened to the ground.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading He looked warily about him like a young wolf, head down, eyes up.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Even children become snarling little beasts.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading He looked warily about him like a young wolf, head down, eyes up.
all of the living human inhabitants of the earth
From this reading _There are times when the animal in Mankind savagely asserts itself.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading His name was Steven--but he'd forgotten that.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Fortunately, however, in childhood laughter is not buried deep._ He dropped over the stone wall and flattened to the ground.
above and across; more than
From this reading Fortunately, however, in childhood laughter is not buried deep._ He dropped over the stone wall and flattened to the ground.
in a vicious manner
From this reading _There are times when the animal in Mankind savagely asserts itself.
-ing form of “snarl” — utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading Even children become snarling little beasts.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading His name was Steven--but he'd forgotten that.
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading Fortunately, however, in childhood laughter is not buried deep._ He dropped over the stone wall and flattened to the ground.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading His name was Steven--but he'd forgotten that.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _There are times when the animal in Mankind savagely asserts itself.
in or at that place or location
From this reading _There are times when the animal in Mankind savagely asserts itself.
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading _There are times when the animal in Mankind savagely asserts itself.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Fortunately, however, in childhood laughter is not buried deep._ He dropped over the stone wall and flattened to the ground.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He looked warily about him like a young wolf, head down, eyes up.
an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure
From this reading Fortunately, however, in childhood laughter is not buried deep._ He dropped over the stone wall and flattened to the ground.
in a wary manner
From this reading He looked warily about him like a young wolf, head down, eyes up.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading His name was Steven--but he'd forgotten that.
at the time that
From this reading _There are times when the animal in Mankind savagely asserts itself.
any of various predatory carnivorous canine mammals of North America and Eurasia that usually hunt in packs
From this reading He looked warily about him like a young wolf, head down, eyes up.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading He looked warily about him like a young wolf, head down, eyes up.
Chapter 1 of Little Boy by Jerome Bixby holds 379 sentences, grouped into 76 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 1 holds 379 sentences of Little Boy, unabridged, divided into 76 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Little Boy by Jerome Bixby exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 379 sentences, grouped into 76 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 76 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 76 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 1 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 Boy by Jerome Bixby on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 379 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58743 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58743, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 31 minutes of reading across 76 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Little Boy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Little Boy 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 Boy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
