Chapter 1 of Mrs. Peter Rabbit is here in full — 41 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Mrs. Peter Rabbit is here in full — 41 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Good appetite, you'll always find, Depends upon your state of mind. --Peter Rabbit. Peter Rabbit had lost his appetite. Now when Peter Rabbit loses his appetite, something is very wrong indeed with him. Peter has boasted that he can eat any time and all the time.
Chapter 1 of Mrs. Peter Rabbit is here in full — 41 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/8 · 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 feeling of craving something
From this reading “Good appetite, you'll always find, Depends upon your state of mind.”
past form of “boast” — show off
From this reading “Peter has boasted that he can eat any time and all the time.”
third-person singular of “depend” — be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading “Good appetite, you'll always find, Depends upon your state of mind.”
take in solid food
From this reading “Peter has boasted that he can eat any time and all the time.”
third-person singular of “lose” — fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading “Now when Peter Rabbit loses his appetite, something is very wrong indeed with him.”
disciple of Jesus and leader of the Apostles; regarded by Catholics as the vicar of Christ on earth and first Pope
From this reading “--Peter 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 “--Peter Rabbit.”
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading “Now when Peter Rabbit loses his appetite, something is very wrong indeed with him.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Peter has boasted that he can eat any time and all the time.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading Good appetite, you'll always find, Depends upon your state of mind.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Peter has boasted that he can eat any time and all the time.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Peter has boasted that he can eat any time and all the time.
a feeling of craving something
From this reading Good appetite, you'll always find, Depends upon your state of mind.
past form of “boast” — show off
From this reading Peter has boasted that he can eat any time and all the time.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Peter has boasted that he can eat any time and all the time.
third-person singular of “depend” — be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading Good appetite, you'll always find, Depends upon your state of mind.
take in solid food
From this reading Peter has boasted that he can eat any time and all the time.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading Good appetite, you'll always find, Depends upon your state of mind.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Good appetite, you'll always find, Depends upon your state of mind.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Peter Rabbit had lost his appetite.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Peter has boasted that he can eat any time and all the time.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Peter has boasted that he can eat any time and all the time.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Now when Peter Rabbit loses his appetite, something is very wrong indeed with him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Peter Rabbit had lost his appetite.
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading Now when Peter Rabbit loses his appetite, something is very wrong indeed with him.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Now when Peter Rabbit loses his appetite, something is very wrong indeed with him.
third-person singular of “lose” — fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading Now when Peter Rabbit loses his appetite, something is very wrong indeed with him.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading Peter Rabbit had lost his appetite.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading Good appetite, you'll always find, Depends upon your state of mind.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now when Peter Rabbit loses his appetite, something is very wrong indeed with him.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Good appetite, you'll always find, Depends upon your state of mind.
disciple of Jesus and leader of the Apostles; regarded by Catholics as the vicar of Christ on earth and first Pope
From this reading --Peter 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 --Peter Rabbit.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading Now when Peter Rabbit loses his appetite, something is very wrong indeed with him.
the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading Good appetite, you'll always find, Depends upon your state of mind.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Peter has boasted that he can eat any time and all the time.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Peter has boasted that he can eat any time and all the time.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Peter has boasted that he can eat any time and all the time.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Good appetite, you'll always find, Depends upon your state of mind.
precisely as stated
From this reading Now when Peter Rabbit loses his appetite, something is very wrong indeed with him.
at the time that
From this reading Now when Peter Rabbit loses his appetite, something is very wrong indeed with him.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Now when Peter Rabbit loses his appetite, something is very wrong indeed with him.
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading Now when Peter Rabbit loses his appetite, something is very wrong indeed with him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Good appetite, you'll always find, Depends upon your state of mind.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Good appetite, you'll always find, Depends upon your state of mind.
Chapter 1 of Mrs. Peter Rabbit by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess holds 41 sentences, grouped into 9 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 1 holds 41 sentences of Mrs. Peter Rabbit, unabridged, divided into 9 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Mrs. Peter Rabbit by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 41 sentences, grouped into 9 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 9 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 9 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 1 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 Mrs. Peter Rabbit by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1264 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5791 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5791, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 105 minutes of reading across 253 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Mrs. Peter Rabbit section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of Mrs. Peter Rabbit 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 Mrs. Peter Rabbit, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
