Chapter 2 of Little Erik of Sweden is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Little Erik of Sweden is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE GNOME Erik sang as he skated across the lake. The lake glistened with chill, bluish crispness like steel. It was as natural for Erik to sing as it was for most little boys to breathe. Sometimes it seemed that he had the throat of a bird. "Down the mountainside came thundering, Fierce and wild, a giant tall."
Chapter 2 of Little Erik of Sweden is here in full — 110 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading “The lake glistened with chill, bluish crispness like steel.”
coldness due to a cold environment
From this reading “The lake glistened with chill, bluish crispness like steel.”
a pleasing firmness and freshness
From this reading “The lake glistened with chill, bluish crispness like steel.”
past form of “glisten” — be shiny, as if wet
From this reading “The lake glistened with chill, bluish crispness like steel.”
a legendary creature resembling a tiny old man; lives in the depths of the earth and guards buried treasure
From this reading “THE GNOME Erik sang as he skated across the lake.”
the side or slope of a mountain
From this reading “"Down the mountainside came thundering, Fierce and wild, a giant tall."”
past form of “skate” — move along on skates
From this reading “THE GNOME Erik sang as he skated across the lake.”
sounding like thunder
From this reading “"Down the mountainside came thundering, Fierce and wild, a giant tall."”
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 this reading “THE GNOME Erik sang as he skated across the lake.”
In this reading “"Down the mountainside came thundering, Fierce and wild, a giant tall."”
In this reading “It was as natural for Erik to sing as it was for most little boys to breathe.”
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 Sometimes it seemed that he had the throat of a bird.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading THE GNOME Erik sang as he skated across the lake.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Down the mountainside came thundering, Fierce and wild, a giant tall."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading THE GNOME Erik sang as he skated across the lake.
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading Sometimes it seemed that he had the throat of a bird.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading The lake glistened with chill, bluish crispness like steel.
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading It was as natural for Erik to sing as it was for most little boys to breathe.
draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs
From this reading It was as natural for Erik to sing as it was for most little boys to breathe.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading "Down the mountainside came thundering, Fierce and wild, a giant tall."
coldness due to a cold environment
From this reading The lake glistened with chill, bluish crispness like steel.
a pleasing firmness and freshness
From this reading The lake glistened with chill, bluish crispness like steel.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading "Down the mountainside came thundering, Fierce and wild, a giant tall."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE GNOME Erik sang as he skated across the lake.
marked by extreme and violent energy
From this reading "Down the mountainside came thundering, Fierce and wild, a giant tall."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading It was as natural for Erik to sing as it was for most little boys to breathe.
any creature of exceptional size
From this reading "Down the mountainside came thundering, Fierce and wild, a giant tall."
past form of “glisten” — be shiny, as if wet
From this reading The lake glistened with chill, bluish crispness like steel.
a legendary creature resembling a tiny old man; lives in the depths of the earth and guards buried treasure
From this reading THE GNOME Erik sang as he skated across the lake.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Sometimes it seemed that he had the throat of a bird.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading THE GNOME Erik sang as he skated across the lake.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was as natural for Erik to sing as it was for most little boys to breathe.
a body of (usually fresh) water surrounded by land
From this reading THE GNOME Erik sang as he skated across the lake.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading The lake glistened with chill, bluish crispness like steel.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading It was as natural for Erik to sing as it was for most little boys to breathe.
used to form the superlative
From this reading It was as natural for Erik to sing as it was for most little boys to breathe.
the side or slope of a mountain
From this reading "Down the mountainside came thundering, Fierce and wild, a giant tall."
in accordance with nature; relating to or concerning nature
From this reading It was as natural for Erik to sing as it was for most little boys to breathe.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Sometimes it seemed that he had the throat of a bird.
North American woodland herb similar to and used as substitute for the Chinese ginseng
From this reading THE GNOME Erik sang as he skated across the lake.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Sometimes it seemed that he had the throat of a bird.
deliver by singing
From this reading It was as natural for Erik to sing as it was for most little boys to breathe.
past form of “skate” — move along on skates
From this reading THE GNOME Erik sang as he skated across the lake.
on certain occasions or in certain cases but not always
From this reading Sometimes it seemed that he had the throat of a bird.
an alloy of iron with small amounts of carbon; widely used in construction; mechanical properties can be varied over a wide range
From this reading The lake glistened with chill, bluish crispness like steel.
great in vertical dimension; high in stature
From this reading "Down the mountainside came thundering, Fierce and wild, a giant tall."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Sometimes it seemed that he had the throat of a bird.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE GNOME Erik sang as he skated across the lake.
The passage at the back of the mouth.
From this reading Sometimes it seemed that he had the throat of a bird.
sounding like thunder
From this reading "Down the mountainside came thundering, Fierce and wild, a giant tall."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was as natural for Erik to sing as it was for most little boys to breathe.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was as natural for Erik to sing as it was for most little boys to breathe.
marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
From this reading "Down the mountainside came thundering, Fierce and wild, a giant tall."
in the company of; together with
From this reading The lake glistened with chill, bluish crispness like steel.
Chapter 2 of Little Erik of Sweden by Madeline Brandeis holds 110 sentences, grouped into 22 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 110 sentences of Little Erik of Sweden, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Little Erik of Sweden by Madeline Brandeis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 110 sentences, grouped into 22 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 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 22 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 Erik of Sweden by Madeline Brandeis on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1487 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36333 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36333, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 123 minutes of reading across 298 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Little Erik of Sweden section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Little Erik of Sweden 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 Erik of Sweden, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
