Chapter 12 of Mpuke, Our Little African Cousin is here in full — 68 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Mpuke, Our Little African Cousin is here in full — 68 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SPIDERS! SUDDENLY Mpuke has a queer feeling about his bare legs, as though he were caught in a net. Has any one been setting a snare here for birds or rabbits? Surely not, or Mpuke would have heard of it. The boy's bright eyes discover in a flash that he has entered the palace of an immense black and yellow spider.
Chapter 12 of Mpuke, Our Little African Cousin is here in full — 68 sentences across 14 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/13 · 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.
possessive form of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading “The boy's bright eyes discover in a flash that he has entered the palace of an immense black and yellow spider.”
gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading “The boy's bright eyes discover in a flash that he has entered the palace of an immense black and yellow spider.”
unusually great in size or amount or degree or especially extent or scope
From this reading “The boy's bright eyes discover in a flash that he has entered the palace of an immense black and yellow spider.”
a computer network consisting of a worldwide network of computer networks that use the TCP/IP network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange
From this reading “SUDDENLY Mpuke has a queer feeling about his bare legs, as though he were caught in a net.”
plural of “rabbit” — any of various burrowing animals of the family Leporidae having long ears and short tails; some domesticated and raised for pets or food
From this reading “Has any one been setting a snare here for birds or rabbits?”
something (often something deceptively attractive) that catches you unawares
From this reading “Has any one been setting a snare here for birds or rabbits?”
predatory arachnid with eight legs, two poison fangs, two feelers, and usually two silk-spinning organs at the back end of the body; they spin silk to make cocoons for eggs or traps for prey
From this reading “The boy's bright eyes discover in a flash that he has entered the palace of an immense black and yellow spider.”
plural of “spider” — predatory arachnid with eight legs, two poison fangs, two feelers, and usually two silk-spinning organs at the back end of the body; they spin silk to make cocoons for eggs or traps for prey
From this reading “SPIDERS!”
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 “SUDDENLY Mpuke has a queer feeling about his bare legs, as though he were caught in a net.”
In this reading “SUDDENLY Mpuke has a queer feeling about his bare legs, as though he were caught in a net.”
In this reading “The boy's bright eyes discover in a flash that he has entered the palace of an immense black and yellow spider.”
In this reading “The boy's bright eyes discover in a flash that he has entered the palace of an immense black and yellow spider.”
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 SUDDENLY Mpuke has a queer feeling about his bare legs, as though he were caught in a net.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading SUDDENLY Mpuke has a queer feeling about his bare legs, as though he were caught in a net.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading The boy's bright eyes discover in a flash that he has entered the palace of an immense black and yellow spider.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The boy's bright eyes discover in a flash that he has entered the palace of an immense black and yellow spider.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Has any one been setting a snare here for birds or rabbits?
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading SUDDENLY Mpuke has a queer feeling about his bare legs, as though he were caught in a net.
completely unclothed
From this reading SUDDENLY Mpuke has a queer feeling about his bare legs, as though he were caught in a net.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Has any one been setting a snare here for birds or rabbits?
plural of “bird” — warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading Has any one been setting a snare here for birds or rabbits?
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading The boy's bright eyes discover in a flash that he has entered the palace of an immense black and yellow spider.
possessive form of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading The boy's bright eyes discover in a flash that he has entered the palace of an immense black and yellow spider.
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading The boy's bright eyes discover in a flash that he has entered the palace of an immense black and yellow spider.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading SUDDENLY Mpuke has a queer feeling about his bare legs, as though he were caught in a net.
discover or determine the existence, presence, or fact of
From this reading The boy's bright eyes discover in a flash that he has entered the palace of an immense black and yellow spider.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading The boy's bright eyes discover in a flash that he has entered the palace of an immense black and yellow spider.
opinion or judgment
From this reading The boy's bright eyes discover in a flash that he has entered the palace of an immense black and yellow spider.
the experiencing of affective and emotional states
From this reading SUDDENLY Mpuke has a queer feeling about his bare legs, as though he were caught in a net.
gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading The boy's bright eyes discover in a flash that he has entered the palace of an immense black and yellow spider.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Has any one been setting a snare here for birds or rabbits?
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading SUDDENLY Mpuke has a queer feeling about his bare legs, as though he were caught in a net.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Surely not, or Mpuke would have heard of it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading SUDDENLY Mpuke has a queer feeling about his bare legs, as though he were caught in a net.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading Surely not, or Mpuke would have heard of it.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Has any one been setting a snare here for birds or rabbits?
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading SUDDENLY Mpuke has a queer feeling about his bare legs, as though he were caught in a net.
unusually great in size or amount or degree or especially extent or scope
From this reading The boy's bright eyes discover in a flash that he has entered the palace of an immense black and yellow spider.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading SUDDENLY Mpuke has a queer feeling about his bare legs, as though he were caught in a net.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Surely not, or Mpuke would have heard of it.
staying power
From this reading SUDDENLY Mpuke has a queer feeling about his bare legs, as though he were caught in a net.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading SUDDENLY Mpuke has a queer feeling about his bare legs, as though he were caught in a net.
a computer network consisting of a worldwide network of computer networks that use the TCP/IP network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange
From this reading SUDDENLY Mpuke has a queer feeling about his bare legs, as though he were caught in a net.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Surely not, or Mpuke would have heard of it.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Surely not, or Mpuke would have heard of it.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Has any one been setting a snare here for birds or rabbits?
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Has any one been setting a snare here for birds or rabbits?
a large and stately mansion
From this reading The boy's bright eyes discover in a flash that he has entered the palace of an immense black and yellow spider.
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading SUDDENLY Mpuke has a queer feeling about his bare legs, as though he were caught in a net.
plural of “rabbit” — any of various burrowing animals of the family Leporidae having long ears and short tails; some domesticated and raised for pets or food
From this reading Has any one been setting a snare here for birds or rabbits?
the context and environment in which something is set
From this reading Has any one been setting a snare here for birds or rabbits?
something (often something deceptively attractive) that catches you unawares
From this reading Has any one been setting a snare here for birds or rabbits?
predatory arachnid with eight legs, two poison fangs, two feelers, and usually two silk-spinning organs at the back end of the body; they spin silk to make cocoons for eggs or traps for prey
From this reading The boy's bright eyes discover in a flash that he has entered the palace of an immense black and yellow spider.
plural of “spider” — predatory arachnid with eight legs, two poison fangs, two feelers, and usually two silk-spinning organs at the back end of the body; they spin silk to make cocoons for eggs or traps for prey
From this reading SPIDERS!
happening unexpectedly
From this reading SUDDENLY Mpuke has a queer feeling about his bare legs, as though he were caught in a net.
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading Surely not, or Mpuke would have heard of it.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The boy's bright eyes discover in a flash that he has entered the palace of an immense black and yellow spider.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The boy's bright eyes discover in a flash that he has entered the palace of an immense black and yellow spider.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading SUDDENLY Mpuke has a queer feeling about his bare legs, as though he were caught in a net.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading SUDDENLY Mpuke has a queer feeling about his bare legs, as though he were caught in a net.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Surely not, or Mpuke would have heard of it.
of the color intermediate between green and orange in the color spectrum; of something resembling the color of an egg yolk
From this reading The boy's bright eyes discover in a flash that he has entered the palace of an immense black and yellow spider.
Chapter 12 of Mpuke, Our Little African Cousin by Mary Hazelton Blanchard Wade holds 68 sentences, grouped into 14 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 12 holds 68 sentences of Mpuke, Our Little African Cousin, unabridged, divided into 14 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Mpuke, Our Little African Cousin by Mary Hazelton Blanchard Wade exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 68 sentences, grouped into 14 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 14 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 14 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 12 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 Mpuke, Our Little African Cousin by Mary Hazelton Blanchard Wade on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 940 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #41976 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #41976, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 78 minutes of reading across 188 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mpuke, Our Little African Cousin section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of Mpuke, Our Little African Cousin 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 Mpuke, Our Little African Cousin, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
