Chapter 5 of Oswald Bastable and Others is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Oswald Bastable and Others is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was all a naughty hoax, intended to annoy poor Miss Simpshall. Your brothers and sisters had painted their faces red and purple--they had not measles at all. But since you _are_ at Aunt Maria's I think you may as well stay ...' 'How awful!' said Molly. 'It _is_ too bad!'
Chapter 5 of Oswald Bastable and Others is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations
From this reading “It was all a naughty hoax, intended to annoy poor Miss Simpshall.”
something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage
From this reading “It was all a naughty hoax, intended to annoy poor Miss Simpshall.”
possessive form of “maria” — a dark region of considerable extent on the surface of the moon
From this reading “But since you _are_ at Aunt Maria's I think you may as well stay ...'”
an acute and highly contagious viral disease marked by distinct red spots followed by a rash; occurs primarily in children
From this reading “Your brothers and sisters had painted their faces red and purple--they had not measles at all.”
popular aquarium fish
From this reading “'How awful!' said Molly.”
suggestive of sexual impropriety
From this reading “It was all a naughty hoax, intended to annoy poor Miss Simpshall.”
coated with paint
From this reading “Your brothers and sisters had painted their faces red and purple--they had not measles at all.”
a purple color or pigment
From this reading “Your brothers and sisters had painted their faces red and purple--they had not measles at all.”
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 was all a naughty hoax, intended to annoy poor Miss Simpshall.
(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 It was all a naughty hoax, intended to annoy poor Miss Simpshall.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Your brothers and sisters had painted their faces red and purple--they had not measles at all.
cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations
From this reading It was all a naughty hoax, intended to annoy poor Miss Simpshall.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading But since you _are_ at Aunt Maria's I think you may as well stay ...'
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading But since you _are_ at Aunt Maria's I think you may as well stay ...'
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Your brothers and sisters had painted their faces red and purple--they had not measles at all.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading But since you _are_ at Aunt Maria's I think you may as well stay ...'
exceptionally bad or displeasing
From this reading 'How awful!' said Molly.
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading 'It _is_ too bad!'
plural of “brother” — a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading Your brothers and sisters had painted their faces red and purple--they had not measles at all.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But since you _are_ at Aunt Maria's I think you may as well stay ...'
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Your brothers and sisters had painted their faces red and purple--they had not measles at all.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Your brothers and sisters had painted their faces red and purple--they had not measles at all.
something intended to deceive; deliberate trickery intended to gain an advantage
From this reading It was all a naughty hoax, intended to annoy poor Miss Simpshall.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'How awful!' said Molly.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading But since you _are_ at Aunt Maria's I think you may as well stay ...'
resulting from one's intentions
From this reading It was all a naughty hoax, intended to annoy poor Miss Simpshall.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 'It _is_ too bad!'
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was all a naughty hoax, intended to annoy poor Miss Simpshall.
possessive form of “maria” — a dark region of considerable extent on the surface of the moon
From this reading But since you _are_ at Aunt Maria's I think you may as well stay ...'
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading But since you _are_ at Aunt Maria's I think you may as well stay ...'
an acute and highly contagious viral disease marked by distinct red spots followed by a rash; occurs primarily in children
From this reading Your brothers and sisters had painted their faces red and purple--they had not measles at all.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading It was all a naughty hoax, intended to annoy poor Miss Simpshall.
popular aquarium fish
From this reading 'How awful!' said Molly.
suggestive of sexual impropriety
From this reading It was all a naughty hoax, intended to annoy poor Miss Simpshall.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Your brothers and sisters had painted their faces red and purple--they had not measles at all.
coated with paint
From this reading Your brothers and sisters had painted their faces red and purple--they had not measles at all.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading It was all a naughty hoax, intended to annoy poor Miss Simpshall.
a purple color or pigment
From this reading Your brothers and sisters had painted their faces red and purple--they had not measles at all.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading Your brothers and sisters had painted their faces red and purple--they had not measles at all.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading 'How awful!' said Molly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was all a naughty hoax, intended to annoy poor Miss Simpshall.
from a time in the past until now
From this reading But since you _are_ at Aunt Maria's I think you may as well stay ...'
plural of “sister” — a female person who has the same parents as another person
From this reading Your brothers and sisters had painted their faces red and purple--they had not measles at all.
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading But since you _are_ at Aunt Maria's I think you may as well stay ...'
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Your brothers and sisters had painted their faces red and purple--they had not measles at all.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Your brothers and sisters had painted their faces red and purple--they had not measles at all.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading But since you _are_ at Aunt Maria's I think you may as well stay ...'
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was all a naughty hoax, intended to annoy poor Miss Simpshall.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading 'It _is_ too bad!'
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was all a naughty hoax, intended to annoy poor Miss Simpshall.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading But since you _are_ at Aunt Maria's I think you may as well stay ...'
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading But since you _are_ at Aunt Maria's I think you may as well stay ...'
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Your brothers and sisters had painted their faces red and purple--they had not measles at all.
Chapter 5 of Oswald Bastable and Others by E. (Edith) Nesbit holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 5 holds 410 sentences of Oswald Bastable and Others, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Oswald Bastable and Others by E. (Edith) Nesbit exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 5 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 Oswald Bastable and Others by E. (Edith) Nesbit on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4483 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #28804 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #28804, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 373 minutes of reading across 897 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Oswald Bastable and Others section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Oswald Bastable and Others 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 Oswald Bastable and Others, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
