Chapter 27 of Old Granny Fox is here in full — 42 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVII
Chapter 27 of Old Granny Fox is here in full — 42 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself A boasting tongue, as sure as fate, Will trip its owner soon or late. —_Old Granny Fox_. Prickly Porky the Porcupine was enjoying himself. There was no doubt about that. He was stretched across the doorway of that old house, the very house in which old Granny Fox had been born.
Chapter 27 of Old Granny Fox is here in full — 42 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.
speaking of yourself in superlatives
From this reading “Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself A boasting tongue, as sure as fate, Will trip its owner soon or late.”
-ing form of “enjoy” — derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in
From this reading “Prickly Porky the Porcupine was enjoying himself.”
third-person singular of “enjoy” — derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in
From this reading “Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself A boasting tongue, as sure as fate, Will trip its owner soon or late.”
alert carnivorous mammal with pointed muzzle and ears and a bushy tail; most are predators that do not hunt in packs
From this reading “He was stretched across the doorway of that old house, the very house in which old Granny Fox had been born.”
the mother of your father or mother
From this reading “—_Old Granny Fox_.”
(law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business
From this reading “Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself A boasting tongue, as sure as fate, Will trip its owner soon or late.”
relatively large rodents with sharp erectile bristles mingled with the fur
From this reading “Prickly Porky the Porcupine was enjoying himself.”
very irritable
From this reading “Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself A boasting tongue, as sure as fate, Will trip its owner soon or late.”
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 Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself A boasting tongue, as sure as fate, Will trip its owner soon or late.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading There was no doubt about that.
from one side of something to the other
From this reading He was stretched across the doorway of that old house, the very house in which old Granny Fox had been born.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself A boasting tongue, as sure as fate, Will trip its owner soon or late.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading He was stretched across the doorway of that old house, the very house in which old Granny Fox had been born.
speaking of yourself in superlatives
From this reading Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself A boasting tongue, as sure as fate, Will trip its owner soon or late.
brought into existence
From this reading He was stretched across the doorway of that old house, the very house in which old Granny Fox had been born.
the entrance (the space in a wall) through which you enter or leave a room or building; the space that a door can close
From this reading He was stretched across the doorway of that old house, the very house in which old Granny Fox had been born.
the state of being unsure of something
From this reading There was no doubt about that.
-ing form of “enjoy” — derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in
From this reading Prickly Porky the Porcupine was enjoying himself.
third-person singular of “enjoy” — derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in
From this reading Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself A boasting tongue, as sure as fate, Will trip its owner soon or late.
an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future
From this reading Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself A boasting tongue, as sure as fate, Will trip its owner soon or late.
alert carnivorous mammal with pointed muzzle and ears and a bushy tail; most are predators that do not hunt in packs
From this reading —_Old Granny Fox_.
the mother of your father or mother
From this reading —_Old Granny Fox_.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He was stretched across the doorway of that old house, the very house in which old Granny Fox had been born.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was stretched across the doorway of that old house, the very house in which old Granny Fox had been born.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself A boasting tongue, as sure as fate, Will trip its owner soon or late.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading He was stretched across the doorway of that old house, the very house in which old Granny Fox had been born.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He was stretched across the doorway of that old house, the very house in which old Granny Fox had been born.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself A boasting tongue, as sure as fate, Will trip its owner soon or late.
being or occurring at an advanced period of time or after a usual or expected time
From this reading Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself A boasting tongue, as sure as fate, Will trip its owner soon or late.
not any; not one
From this reading There was no doubt about that.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He was stretched across the doorway of that old house, the very house in which old Granny Fox had been born.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading —_Old Granny Fox_.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself A boasting tongue, as sure as fate, Will trip its owner soon or late.
(law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business
From this reading Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself A boasting tongue, as sure as fate, Will trip its owner soon or late.
relatively large rodents with sharp erectile bristles mingled with the fur
From this reading Prickly Porky the Porcupine was enjoying himself.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself A boasting tongue, as sure as fate, Will trip its owner soon or late.
very irritable
From this reading Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself A boasting tongue, as sure as fate, Will trip its owner soon or late.
in the near future
From this reading Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself A boasting tongue, as sure as fate, Will trip its owner soon or late.
(of muscles) relieved of stiffness by stretching
From this reading He was stretched across the doorway of that old house, the very house in which old Granny Fox had been born.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself A boasting tongue, as sure as fate, Will trip its owner soon or late.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading There was no doubt about that.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Prickly Porky the Porcupine was enjoying himself.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was no doubt about that.
a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity
From this reading Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself A boasting tongue, as sure as fate, Will trip its owner soon or late.
a journey for some purpose (usually including the return)
From this reading Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself A boasting tongue, as sure as fate, Will trip its owner soon or late.
precisely as stated
From this reading He was stretched across the doorway of that old house, the very house in which old Granny Fox had been born.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Prickly Porky the Porcupine was enjoying himself.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading He was stretched across the doorway of that old house, the very house in which old Granny Fox had been born.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Prickly Porky Enjoys Himself A boasting tongue, as sure as fate, Will trip its owner soon or late.
Chapter 27 of Old Granny Fox by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess holds 42 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 27 holds 42 sentences of Old Granny Fox, unabridged, divided into 9 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 27 of Old Granny Fox by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 42 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 27 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 Old Granny Fox by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1433 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4980 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4980, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 119 minutes of reading across 287 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Old Granny Fox section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of Old Granny Fox 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 Old Granny Fox, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
