Chapter 3 of Merry-Garden and Other Stories is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Merry-Garden and Other Stories is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
What had the station-master said? It might be an hour--certainly not less than forty minutes--before the train could be restarted. Mr. Molesworth looked at his watch. Forty minutes to explore the road: forty minutes' holiday! He laughed, pocketed the watch again, and took the road briskly, humming a song.
Chapter 3 of Merry-Garden and Other Stories is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
in a brisk manner
From this reading “He laughed, pocketed the watch again, and took the road briskly, humming a song.”
inquire into
From this reading “Forty minutes to explore the road: forty minutes' holiday!”
being ten more than thirty
From this reading “It might be an hour--certainly not less than forty minutes--before the train could be restarted.”
leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure
From this reading “Forty minutes to explore the road: forty minutes' holiday!”
a humming noise
From this reading “He laughed, pocketed the watch again, and took the road briskly, humming a song.”
past form of “pocket” — put in one's pocket
From this reading “He laughed, pocketed the watch again, and took the road briskly, humming a song.”
past form of “restart” — start an engine again, for example
From this reading “It might be an hour--certainly not less than forty minutes--before the train could be restarted.”
a short musical composition with words
From this reading “He laughed, pocketed the watch again, and took the road briskly, humming a song.”
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 laughed, pocketed the watch again, and took the road briskly, humming a song.
anew
From this reading He laughed, pocketed the watch again, and took the road briskly, humming a song.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading It might be an hour--certainly not less than forty minutes--before the train could be restarted.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He laughed, pocketed the watch again, and took the road briskly, humming a song.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Mr. Molesworth looked at his watch.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It might be an hour--certainly not less than forty minutes--before the train could be restarted.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading It might be an hour--certainly not less than forty minutes--before the train could be restarted.
in a brisk manner
From this reading He laughed, pocketed the watch again, and took the road briskly, humming a song.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading It might be an hour--certainly not less than forty minutes--before the train could be restarted.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading It might be an hour--certainly not less than forty minutes--before the train could be restarted.
inquire into
From this reading Forty minutes to explore the road: forty minutes' holiday!
being ten more than thirty
From this reading It might be an hour--certainly not less than forty minutes--before the train could be restarted.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading What had the station-master said?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He laughed, pocketed the watch again, and took the road briskly, humming a song.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Mr. Molesworth looked at his watch.
leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure
From this reading Forty minutes to explore the road: forty minutes' holiday!
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading It might be an hour--certainly not less than forty minutes--before the train could be restarted.
a humming noise
From this reading He laughed, pocketed the watch again, and took the road briskly, humming a song.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It might be an hour--certainly not less than forty minutes--before the train could be restarted.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading He laughed, pocketed the watch again, and took the road briskly, humming a song.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading It might be an hour--certainly not less than forty minutes--before the train could be restarted.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading Mr. Molesworth looked at his watch.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading It might be an hour--certainly not less than forty minutes--before the train could be restarted.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading It might be an hour--certainly not less than forty minutes--before the train could be restarted.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mr. Molesworth looked at his watch.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Molesworth looked at his watch.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It might be an hour--certainly not less than forty minutes--before the train could be restarted.
past form of “pocket” — put in one's pocket
From this reading He laughed, pocketed the watch again, and took the road briskly, humming a song.
past form of “restart” — start an engine again, for example
From this reading It might be an hour--certainly not less than forty minutes--before the train could be restarted.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading Forty minutes to explore the road: forty minutes' holiday!
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading What had the station-master said?
a short musical composition with words
From this reading He laughed, pocketed the watch again, and took the road briskly, humming a song.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading What had the station-master said?
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading It might be an hour--certainly not less than forty minutes--before the train could be restarted.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading What had the station-master said?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Forty minutes to explore the road: forty minutes' holiday!
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading He laughed, pocketed the watch again, and took the road briskly, humming a song.
create by training and teaching
From this reading It might be an hour--certainly not less than forty minutes--before the train could be restarted.
look attentively
From this reading Mr. Molesworth looked at his watch.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What had the station-master said?
Chapter 3 of Merry-Garden and Other Stories by Arthur Quiller-Couch holds 428 sentences, grouped into 86 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 3 holds 428 sentences of Merry-Garden and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Merry-Garden and Other Stories by Arthur Quiller-Couch exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 428 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 3 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 Merry-Garden and Other Stories by Arthur Quiller-Couch on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2984 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #27813 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #27813, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 248 minutes of reading across 597 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Merry-Garden and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Merry-Garden and Other Stories 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 Merry-Garden and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
