Chapter 1 of Little Folks Astray is here in full — 133 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Little Folks Astray is here in full — 133 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE UNDERTAKING. When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly. With spinning head and dancing feet, she was set down, at last, in the cars. "Here we are, all by ourselves, darling, starting off for Gotham. Wave your handkerchief to mamma.
Chapter 1 of Little Folks Astray is here in full — 133 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
noisy like the sound of a bee
From this reading “When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.”
plural of “car” — a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading “With spinning head and dancing feet, she was set down, at last, in the cars.”
provide with clothes or put clothes on
From this reading “When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.”
plural of “dress” — a one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice
From this reading “When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.”
creating thread
From this reading “With spinning head and dancing feet, she was set down, at last, in the cars.”
(especially of eyes) bulging or protruding as with fear
From this reading “"Here we are, all by ourselves, darling, starting off for Gotham.”
any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted
From this reading “THE UNDERTAKING.”
one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
From this reading “Wave your handkerchief to mamma.”
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 When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.
(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 "Here we are, all by ourselves, darling, starting off for Gotham.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading With spinning head and dancing feet, she was set down, at last, in the cars.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Here we are, all by ourselves, darling, starting off for Gotham.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading With spinning head and dancing feet, she was set down, at last, in the cars.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.
noisy like the sound of a bee
From this reading When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "Here we are, all by ourselves, darling, starting off for Gotham.
plural of “car” — a motor vehicle with four wheels; usually propelled by an internal combustion engine
From this reading With spinning head and dancing feet, she was set down, at last, in the cars.
provide with clothes or put clothes on
From this reading When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.
taking a series of rhythmical steps (and movements) in time to music
From this reading With spinning head and dancing feet, she was set down, at last, in the cars.
a special loved one
From this reading "Here we are, all by ourselves, darling, starting off for Gotham.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading With spinning head and dancing feet, she was set down, at last, in the cars.
plural of “dress” — a one-piece garment for a woman; has skirt and bodice
From this reading When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
From this reading When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading With spinning head and dancing feet, she was set down, at last, in the cars.
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.
travel through the air; be airborne
From this reading When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.
guided by whim and fancy
From this reading When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Here we are, all by ourselves, darling, starting off for Gotham.
the act of departing
From this reading When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Here we are, all by ourselves, darling, starting off for Gotham.
a square piece of cloth used for wiping the eyes or nose or as a costume accessory
From this reading Wave your handkerchief to mamma.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading With spinning head and dancing feet, she was set down, at last, in the cars.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "Here we are, all by ourselves, darling, starting off for Gotham.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading With spinning head and dancing feet, she was set down, at last, in the cars.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.
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 When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.
immediately past
From this reading With spinning head and dancing feet, she was set down, at last, in the cars.
informal terms for a mother
From this reading Wave your handkerchief to mamma.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "Here we are, all by ourselves, darling, starting off for Gotham.
used when we are both doing the action and receiving it
From this reading "Here we are, all by ourselves, darling, starting off for Gotham.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading With spinning head and dancing feet, she was set down, at last, in the cars.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.
creating thread
From this reading With spinning head and dancing feet, she was set down, at last, in the cars.
(especially of eyes) bulging or protruding as with fear
From this reading "Here we are, all by ourselves, darling, starting off for Gotham.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE UNDERTAKING.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.
any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted
From this reading THE UNDERTAKING.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.
one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
From this reading Wave your handkerchief to mamma.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Here we are, all by ourselves, darling, starting off for Gotham.
at the time that
From this reading When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With spinning head and dancing feet, she was set down, at last, in the cars.
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 When Flyaway knew she was going to New York, it was about as easy to fit her dresses as to clothe a buzzing blue-bottle fly.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Wave your handkerchief to mamma.
Chapter 1 of Little Folks Astray by Sophie May holds 133 sentences, grouped into 27 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 133 sentences of Little Folks Astray, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Little Folks Astray by Sophie May exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 133 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 Folks Astray by Sophie May on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1643 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11257 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11257, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 136 minutes of reading across 329 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Little Folks Astray section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Little Folks Astray 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 Folks Astray, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
