Chapter 4 of Little Frankie at His Plays is here in full — 50 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Little Frankie at His Plays is here in full — 50 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FRANKIE'S BLOCK HOUSE. A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went. The little boy looked very angry. "You naughty girl," he said. Mamma laid down her work, and gazed at him, and her eyes looked very sorry.
Chapter 4 of Little Frankie at His Plays is here in full — 50 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/10 · 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.
a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides)
From this reading “FRANKIE'S BLOCK HOUSE.”
plural of “block” — a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides)
From this reading “A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.”
a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading “A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.”
past form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading “Mamma laid down her work, and gazed at him, and her eyes looked very sorry.”
cause to move by striking
From this reading “A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.”
informal terms for a mother
From this reading “A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.”
suggestive of sexual impropriety
From this reading “"You naughty girl," he said.”
witty remark
From this reading “A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.”
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 “A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.”
In this reading “"You naughty girl," he said.”
In this reading “A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.”
transmit information
In this reading “A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.”
In this reading “The little boy looked very angry.”
In this reading “A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.”
In this reading “The little boy looked very angry.”
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 A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
later than; following
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
feeling or showing anger
From this reading The little boy looked very angry.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Mamma laid down her work, and gazed at him, and her eyes looked very sorry.
a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides)
From this reading FRANKIE'S BLOCK HOUSE.
plural of “block” — a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides)
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
a youthful male person
From this reading The little boy looked very angry.
a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Mamma laid down her work, and gazed at him, and her eyes looked very sorry.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Mamma laid down her work, and gazed at him, and her eyes looked very sorry.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure)
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading FRANKIE'S BLOCK HOUSE.
past form of “gaze” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading Mamma laid down her work, and gazed at him, and her eyes looked very sorry.
a young female
From this reading "You naughty girl," he said.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Mamma laid down her work, and gazed at him, and her eyes looked very sorry.
greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Mamma laid down her work, and gazed at him, and her eyes looked very sorry.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
cause to move by striking
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading FRANKIE'S BLOCK HOUSE.
set down according to a plan
From this reading Mamma laid down her work, and gazed at him, and her eyes looked very sorry.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The little boy looked very angry.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading The little boy looked very angry.
informal terms for a mother
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
suggestive of sexual impropriety
From this reading "You naughty girl," he said.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
above and across; more than
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "You naughty girl," he said.
witty remark
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading Mamma laid down her work, and gazed at him, and her eyes looked very sorry.
past form of “talk” — exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
precisely as stated
From this reading The little boy looked very angry.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
at the time that
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
in the company of; together with
From this reading A FEW days after mamma talked with Frankie, he was building a high house on the floor with his blocks, when Sally passed along and hit them, and over they went.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading Mamma laid down her work, and gazed at him, and her eyes looked very sorry.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You naughty girl," he said.
Chapter 4 of Little Frankie at His Plays by Madeline Leslie holds 50 sentences, grouped into 10 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 4 holds 50 sentences of Little Frankie at His Plays, unabridged, divided into 10 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Little Frankie at His Plays by Madeline Leslie exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 50 sentences, grouped into 10 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 10 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 10 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 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.
Common questions about reading Little Frankie at His Plays by Madeline Leslie on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 410 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33521 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #33521, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 34 minutes of reading across 82 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Little Frankie at His Plays section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Little Frankie at His Plays 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 Frankie at His Plays, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
