Chapter 2 of Mother West Wind's Children is here in full — 387 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Mother West Wind's Children is here in full — 387 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
With a great roar of his big voice, he sprang forward. Mother Fox waited until he was almost upon her, then springing to one side, she trotted off a little way. At once Bowser the Hound started after her. She pretended to be very tired. Every time he rushed forward she managed to just slip out of his grasp.
Chapter 2 of Mother West Wind's Children is here in full — 387 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/77 · 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.
alert carnivorous mammal with pointed muzzle and ears and a bushy tail; most are predators that do not hunt in packs
From this reading “Mother Fox waited until he was almost upon her, then springing to one side, she trotted off a little way.”
hold firmly
From this reading “Every time he rushed forward she managed to just slip out of his grasp.”
any of several breeds of dog used for hunting typically having large drooping ears
From this reading “At once Bowser the Hound started after her.”
adopted in order to deceive
From this reading “She pretended to be very tired.”
make a loud noise, as of wind, water, or vehicles
From this reading “With a great roar of his big voice, he sprang forward.”
move stealthily
From this reading “Every time he rushed forward she managed to just slip out of his grasp.”
-ing form of “spring” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading “Mother Fox waited until he was almost upon her, then springing to one side, she trotted off a little way.”
inflected form of “trot” — run at a moderately swift pace
From this reading “Mother Fox waited until he was almost upon her, then springing to one side, she trotted off a little way.”
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 With a great roar of his big voice, he sprang forward.
later than; following
From this reading At once Bowser the Hound started after her.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading Mother Fox waited until he was almost upon her, then springing to one side, she trotted off a little way.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At once Bowser the Hound started after her.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading She pretended to be very tired.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading With a great roar of his big voice, he sprang forward.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading At once Bowser the Hound started after her.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Every time he rushed forward she managed to just slip out of his grasp.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading With a great roar of his big voice, he sprang forward.
alert carnivorous mammal with pointed muzzle and ears and a bushy tail; most are predators that do not hunt in packs
From this reading Mother Fox waited until he was almost upon her, then springing to one side, she trotted off a little way.
hold firmly
From this reading Every time he rushed forward she managed to just slip out of his grasp.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading With a great roar of his big voice, he sprang forward.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading With a great roar of his big voice, he sprang forward.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Mother Fox waited until he was almost upon her, then springing to one side, she trotted off a little way.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading With a great roar of his big voice, he sprang forward.
any of several breeds of dog used for hunting typically having large drooping ears
From this reading At once Bowser the Hound started after her.
and nothing more
From this reading Every time he rushed forward she managed to just slip out of his grasp.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Mother Fox waited until he was almost upon her, then springing to one side, she trotted off a little way.
past form of “manage” — be successful; achieve a goal
From this reading Every time he rushed forward she managed to just slip out of his grasp.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Mother Fox waited until he was almost upon her, then springing to one side, she trotted off a little way.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading With a great roar of his big voice, he sprang forward.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Mother Fox waited until he was almost upon her, then springing to one side, she trotted off a little way.
on one occasion
From this reading At once Bowser the Hound started after her.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Mother Fox waited until he was almost upon her, then springing to one side, she trotted off a little way.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Every time he rushed forward she managed to just slip out of his grasp.
adopted in order to deceive
From this reading She pretended to be very tired.
make a loud noise, as of wind, water, or vehicles
From this reading With a great roar of his big voice, he sprang forward.
done under pressure
From this reading Every time he rushed forward she managed to just slip out of his grasp.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Mother Fox waited until he was almost upon her, then springing to one side, she trotted off a little way.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading Mother Fox waited until he was almost upon her, then springing to one side, she trotted off a little way.
move stealthily
From this reading Every time he rushed forward she managed to just slip out of his grasp.
inflected form of “spring” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading With a great roar of his big voice, he sprang forward.
-ing form of “spring” — move forward by leaps and bounds
From this reading Mother Fox waited until he was almost upon her, then springing to one side, she trotted off a little way.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading At once Bowser the Hound started after her.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading At once Bowser the Hound started after her.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Mother Fox waited until he was almost upon her, then springing to one side, she trotted off a little way.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Every time he rushed forward she managed to just slip out of his grasp.
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading She pretended to be very tired.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mother Fox waited until he was almost upon her, then springing to one side, she trotted off a little way.
inflected form of “trot” — run at a moderately swift pace
From this reading Mother Fox waited until he was almost upon her, then springing to one side, she trotted off a little way.
up to a particular time
From this reading Mother Fox waited until he was almost upon her, then springing to one side, she trotted off a little way.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Mother Fox waited until he was almost upon her, then springing to one side, she trotted off a little way.
precisely as stated
From this reading She pretended to be very tired.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading With a great roar of his big voice, he sprang forward.
past form of “wait” — stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading Mother Fox waited until he was almost upon her, then springing to one side, she trotted off a little way.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Mother Fox waited until he was almost upon her, then springing to one side, she trotted off a little way.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Mother Fox waited until he was almost upon her, then springing to one side, she trotted off a little way.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With a great roar of his big voice, he sprang forward.
Chapter 2 of Mother West Wind's Children by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess holds 387 sentences, grouped into 78 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 387 sentences of Mother West Wind's Children, unabridged, divided into 78 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Mother West Wind's Children by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 387 sentences, grouped into 78 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 78 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 78 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 Mother West Wind's Children by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1620 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #20877 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #20877, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 135 minutes of reading across 324 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mother West Wind's Children section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of Mother West Wind's Children 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 Mother West Wind's Children, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
