Chapter 4 of Merry Tales is here in full — 453 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Merry Tales is here in full — 453 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Gentle sir, I hope you are not afraid of me, your own good friend. Certainly I should be worse than a fiend if I harmed you. Indeed I did not come here to spy upon you, but, pardon me, to hear your glorious voice. No angel in heaven could sing sweeter than you do. How well I remember my lord, your father, and my lady, your honorable mother.
Chapter 4 of Merry Tales is here in full — 453 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/90 · 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.
spiritual being attendant upon God
From this reading “No angel in heaven could sing sweeter than you do.”
a cruel wicked and inhuman person
From this reading “Certainly I should be worse than a fiend if I harmed you.”
having or deserving or conferring glory
From this reading “Indeed I did not come here to spy upon you, but, pardon me, to hear your glorious voice.”
past form of “harm” — cause or do harm to
From this reading “Certainly I should be worse than a fiend if I harmed you.”
not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent
From this reading “How well I remember my lord, your father, and my lady, your honorable mother.”
accept an excuse for
From this reading “Indeed I did not come here to spy upon you, but, pardon me, to hear your glorious voice.”
catch sight of
From this reading “Indeed I did not come here to spy upon you, but, pardon me, to hear your glorious voice.”
comparative of “sweet” — having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading “No angel in heaven could sing sweeter than you do.”
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 “Indeed I did not come here to spy upon you, but, pardon me, to hear your glorious voice.”
In this reading ““Gentle sir, I hope you are not afraid of me, your own good friend.”
In this reading “Indeed I did not come here to spy upon you, but, pardon me, to hear your glorious voice.”
In this reading “No angel in heaven could sing sweeter than you do.”
In this reading ““Gentle sir, I hope you are not afraid of me, your own good friend.”
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 Certainly I should be worse than a fiend if I harmed you.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading “Gentle sir, I hope you are not afraid of me, your own good friend.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading How well I remember my lord, your father, and my lady, your honorable mother.
spiritual being attendant upon God
From this reading No angel in heaven could sing sweeter than you do.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “Gentle sir, I hope you are not afraid of me, your own good friend.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Certainly I should be worse than a fiend if I harmed you.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Indeed I did not come here to spy upon you, but, pardon me, to hear your glorious voice.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading Certainly I should be worse than a fiend if I harmed you.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Indeed I did not come here to spy upon you, but, pardon me, to hear your glorious voice.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading No angel in heaven could sing sweeter than you do.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Indeed I did not come here to spy upon you, but, pardon me, to hear your glorious voice.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading No angel in heaven could sing sweeter than you do.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading How well I remember my lord, your father, and my lady, your honorable mother.
a cruel wicked and inhuman person
From this reading Certainly I should be worse than a fiend if I harmed you.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading “Gentle sir, I hope you are not afraid of me, your own good friend.
soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe
From this reading “Gentle sir, I hope you are not afraid of me, your own good friend.
having or deserving or conferring glory
From this reading Indeed I did not come here to spy upon you, but, pardon me, to hear your glorious voice.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading “Gentle sir, I hope you are not afraid of me, your own good friend.
past form of “harm” — cause or do harm to
From this reading Certainly I should be worse than a fiend if I harmed you.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading Indeed I did not come here to spy upon you, but, pardon me, to hear your glorious voice.
any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading No angel in heaven could sing sweeter than you do.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Indeed I did not come here to spy upon you, but, pardon me, to hear your glorious voice.
not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent
From this reading How well I remember my lord, your father, and my lady, your honorable mother.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading “Gentle sir, I hope you are not afraid of me, your own good friend.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How well I remember my lord, your father, and my lady, your honorable mother.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Gentle sir, I hope you are not afraid of me, your own good friend.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Certainly I should be worse than a fiend if I harmed you.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading No angel in heaven could sing sweeter than you do.
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading Indeed I did not come here to spy upon you, but, pardon me, to hear your glorious voice.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading How well I remember my lord, your father, and my lady, your honorable mother.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading How well I remember my lord, your father, and my lady, your honorable mother.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Gentle sir, I hope you are not afraid of me, your own good friend.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading How well I remember my lord, your father, and my lady, your honorable mother.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading How well I remember my lord, your father, and my lady, your honorable mother.
not any; not one
From this reading No angel in heaven could sing sweeter than you do.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “Gentle sir, I hope you are not afraid of me, your own good friend.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “Gentle sir, I hope you are not afraid of me, your own good friend.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading “Gentle sir, I hope you are not afraid of me, your own good friend.
accept an excuse for
From this reading Indeed I did not come here to spy upon you, but, pardon me, to hear your glorious voice.
To recall to mind.
From this reading How well I remember my lord, your father, and my lady, your honorable mother.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading Certainly I should be worse than a fiend if I harmed you.
deliver by singing
From this reading No angel in heaven could sing sweeter than you do.
term of address for a man
From this reading “Gentle sir, I hope you are not afraid of me, your own good friend.
catch sight of
From this reading Indeed I did not come here to spy upon you, but, pardon me, to hear your glorious voice.
comparative of “sweet” — having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading No angel in heaven could sing sweeter than you do.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Certainly I should be worse than a fiend if I harmed you.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Indeed I did not come here to spy upon you, but, pardon me, to hear your glorious voice.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Indeed I did not come here to spy upon you, but, pardon me, to hear your glorious voice.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading Indeed I did not come here to spy upon you, but, pardon me, to hear your glorious voice.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading How well I remember my lord, your father, and my lady, your honorable mother.
(comparative of “bad”) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability
From this reading Certainly I should be worse than a fiend if I harmed you.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Gentle sir, I hope you are not afraid of me, your own good friend.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Gentle sir, I hope you are not afraid of me, your own good friend.
Chapter 4 of Merry Tales by Eleanor L. (Eleanor Louise) Skinner holds 453 sentences, grouped into 91 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 453 sentences of Merry Tales, unabridged, divided into 91 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Merry Tales by Eleanor L. (Eleanor Louise) Skinner exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 453 sentences, grouped into 91 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 91 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 91 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 Merry Tales by Eleanor L. (Eleanor Louise) Skinner on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2262 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #53766 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #53766, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 188 minutes of reading across 453 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Merry Tales section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Merry Tales 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 Tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
