Chapter 3 of Old Peter's Russian Tales is here in full — 439 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Old Peter's Russian Tales is here in full — 439 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Don't worry about that," said the Eater. "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner." The servant came, and announced the Tzar's command. "Good," says the Fool. "Send the food along, and we'll know what to do with it."
Chapter 3 of Old Peter's Russian Tales is here in full — 439 sentences across 88 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/87 · 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.
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading “The servant came, and announced the Tzar's command.”
an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
From this reading “The servant came, and announced the Tzar's command.”
someone who consumes food for nourishment
From this reading “"Don't worry about that," said the Eater.”
any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue
From this reading “"Send the food along, and we'll know what to do with it."”
a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading “"Good," says the Fool.”
the quantity that can be held in the mouth
From this reading “"It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."”
a light informal meal
From this reading “"It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."”
be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy
From this reading “"Don't worry about that," said the Eater.”
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 "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading "Don't worry about that," said the Eater.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading "Send the food along, and we'll know what to do with it."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading The servant came, and announced the Tzar's command.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading The servant came, and announced the Tzar's command.
an authoritative direction or instruction to do something
From this reading The servant came, and announced the Tzar's command.
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Send the food along, and we'll know what to do with it."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Don't worry about that," said the Eater.
someone who consumes food for nourishment
From this reading "Don't worry about that," said the Eater.
any substance that can be metabolized by an animal to give energy and build tissue
From this reading "Send the food along, and we'll know what to do with it."
a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading "Good," says the Fool.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."
showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
From this reading "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading "Good," says the Fool.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "Send the food along, and we'll know what to do with it."
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."
the quantity that can be held in the mouth
From this reading "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Don't worry about that," said the Eater.
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading "Good," says the Fool.
cause to go somewhere
From this reading "Send the food along, and we'll know what to do with it."
a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading The servant came, and announced the Tzar's command.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."
a light informal meal
From this reading "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Don't worry about that," said the Eater.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Don't worry about that," said the Eater.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The servant came, and announced the Tzar's command.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Send the food along, and we'll know what to do with it."
used to ask for information about something
From this reading "Send the food along, and we'll know what to do with it."
in the company of; together with
From this reading "Send the food along, and we'll know what to do with it."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It won't be more than a mouthful for me, and I shall be glad to have a little snack in place of my dinner."
be worried, concerned, anxious, troubled, or uneasy
From this reading "Don't worry about that," said the Eater.
Chapter 3 of Old Peter's Russian Tales by Arthur Ransome holds 439 sentences, grouped into 88 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 3 holds 439 sentences of Old Peter's Russian Tales, unabridged, divided into 88 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Old Peter's Russian Tales by Arthur Ransome exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 439 sentences, grouped into 88 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 88 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 88 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 3 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 Peter's Russian Tales by Arthur Ransome on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3961 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #16981 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #16981, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 330 minutes of reading across 793 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Old Peter's Russian Tales section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Old Peter's Russian 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 Old Peter's Russian Tales, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
