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Our Davie Pepper
Our Davie Pepper

Chapter XXIII

Chapter 23 of Our Davie Pepper is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Margaret Sidney • Curated US English Learning Edition
Cover illustration for Our Davie Pepper
Context Illustration Reading 1/31 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THE BEAUTIFUL DAY “Hey there--look out for that boy!” roared the farmer.
It was all done in a minute.
The mass of hay, with David in its center, slid neatly off the top of the cart to the ground.
Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.
“Jehoshaphat!”
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Our Davie Pepper

Chapter XXIII

Chapter 23 of Our Davie Pepper is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/31 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THE BEAUTIFUL DAY “Hey there--look out for that boy!” roared the farmer.
Line 2
It was all done in a minute.
/ɪt wɑːz ɔːl dʌn ɪn ə ˈmɪnət/
Line 3
The mass of hay, with David in its center, slid neatly off the top of the cart to the ground.
/ðə mæs ʌv heɪ wɪð ˈdeɪvɪd ɪn ɪts ˈsɛn.tər slɪd ˈniːtli ɔːf ðə tɑːp ʌv ðə kɑːrt tuː ðə ɡraʊnd/
Line 4
Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.
/bɪl ðə ˈhaɪərd mæn ˈpɪtʃfɔːrk ɪn hænd liːnd ˈoʊvər ðə edʒ ɪn ə steɪt ʌv ɡreɪt ˌkɑːnstərˈneɪʃən ðə rest ʌv ðə ˈleɪbərərz ðə ˈloʊdɪŋ ɔːl kəmˈpliːtəd ˈwɑːtʃɪŋ tuː siː ðə kɑːrt stɑːrt ɔːf fɔːr ðə bɑːrn/
Line 5
“Jehoshaphat!”

Learner Dictionary

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.

consternation noun US /ˌkɑːnstərˈneɪʃən/

fear resulting from the awareness of danger

From this reading “Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
hay noun US /heɪ/

grass mowed and cured for use as fodder

From this reading “The mass of hay, with David in its center, slid neatly off the top of the cart to the ground.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
hired adjective US /ˈhaɪərd/

having services engaged for a fee

From this reading “Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
laborers noun US /ˈleɪbərərz/

plural of “laborer” — someone who works with their hands; someone engaged in manual labor

From this reading “Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
loading noun US /ˈloʊdɪŋ/

weight to be borne or conveyed

From this reading “Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
neatly adverb US /ˈniːtli/

with neatness

From this reading “The mass of hay, with David in its center, slid neatly off the top of the cart to the ground.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
pitchfork noun US /ˈpɪtʃfɔːrk/

a long-handled hand tool with sharp widely spaced prongs for lifting and pitching hay

From this reading “Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
slid verb US /slɪd/

inflected form of “slide” — move obliquely or sideways, usually in an uncontrolled manner

From this reading “The mass of hay, with David in its center, slid neatly off the top of the cart to the ground.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

leaned over verb + particle counted as “lean over”

In this reading “Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.”

8,640 times in 426,211 chapters
hired man adjective + noun

a hired laborer on a farm or ranch

In this reading “Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.”

1,673 times in 426,211 chapters
start off verb + particle

In this reading “Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.”

8,737 times in 426,211 chapters
over the edge preposition + article + noun counted as “over … edge”

In this reading “Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.”

4,357 times in 426,211 chapters
great consternation adjective + noun

In this reading “Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.”

276 times in 426,211 chapters
rest of verb + particle

In this reading “Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.”

80,160 times in 426,211 chapters
in a state preposition + article + noun counted as “in … state”

In this reading “Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.”

21,700 times in 426,211 chapters
in a minute preposition + article + noun counted as “in … minute”

In this reading “It was all done in a minute.”

11,778 times in 426,211 chapters

All words in this reading · 53

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading It was all done in a minute.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 done in a minute.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
barnnounUS /bɑːrn/

an outlying farm building for storing grain or animal feed and housing farm animals

From this reading Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
BEAUTIFULadjectiveUS /ˈbjuːtəfəl/

delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration

From this reading THE BEAUTIFUL DAY “Hey there--look out for that boy!” roared the farmer.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
BillnounUS /bɪl/

a statute in draft before it becomes law

From this reading Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
boynounUS /bɔɪ/

a youthful male person

From this reading THE BEAUTIFUL DAY “Hey there--look out for that boy!” roared the farmer.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
cartnounUS /kɑːrt/

a heavy open wagon usually having two wheels and drawn by an animal

From this reading The mass of hay, with David in its center, slid neatly off the top of the cart to the ground.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
centernounUS /ˈsɛn.tər/

The middle point or core of an area.

From this reading The mass of hay, with David in its center, slid neatly off the top of the cart to the ground.

Velmora curated lexicon
completedadjectiveUS /kəmˈpliːtəd/

successfully completed or brought to an end

From this reading Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
consternationnounUS /ˌkɑːnstərˈneɪʃən/

fear resulting from the awareness of danger

From this reading Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
DavidnounUS /ˈdeɪvɪd/

patron saint of Wales (circa 520-600)

From this reading The mass of hay, with David in its center, slid neatly off the top of the cart to the ground.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
DAYnounUS /deɪ/

time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis

From this reading THE BEAUTIFUL DAY “Hey there--look out for that boy!” roared the farmer.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
doneadjectiveUS /dʌn/

having finished or arrived at completion

From this reading It was all done in a minute.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
edgenounUS /edʒ/

the boundary of a surface

From this reading Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
farmernounUS /ˈfɑːrmər/

a person who operates a farm

From this reading THE BEAUTIFUL DAY “Hey there--look out for that boy!” roared the farmer.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading THE BEAUTIFUL DAY “Hey there--look out for that boy!” roared the farmer.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
greatadjectiveUS /ɡreɪt/

relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind

From this reading Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
groundnounUS /ɡraʊnd/

the solid part of the earth's surface

From this reading The mass of hay, with David in its center, slid neatly off the top of the cart to the ground.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
handnounUS /hænd/

the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb

From this reading Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
haynounUS /heɪ/

grass mowed and cured for use as fodder

From this reading The mass of hay, with David in its center, slid neatly off the top of the cart to the ground.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Hey

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading THE BEAUTIFUL DAY “Hey there--look out for that boy!” roared the farmer.

Pending verification
hiredadjectiveUS /ˈhaɪərd/

having services engaged for a fee

From this reading Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading It was all done in a minute.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading It was all done in a minute.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/

belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned

From this reading The mass of hay, with David in its center, slid neatly off the top of the cart to the ground.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
Jehoshaphat

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “Jehoshaphat!”

Pending verification
laborersnounUS /ˈleɪbərərz/

plural of “laborer” — someone who works with their hands; someone engaged in manual labor

From this reading Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
leanedverbUS /liːnd/

past form of “lean” — to incline or bend from a vertical position

From this reading Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
loadingnounUS /ˈloʊdɪŋ/

weight to be borne or conveyed

From this reading Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
lookverbUS /lʊk/

perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards

From this reading THE BEAUTIFUL DAY “Hey there--look out for that boy!” roared the farmer.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
mannounUS /mæn/

an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)

From this reading Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
massnounUS /mæs/

the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field

From this reading The mass of hay, with David in its center, slid neatly off the top of the cart to the ground.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
minutenounUS /ˈmɪnət/

a unit of time equal to 60 seconds or 1/60th of an hour

From this reading It was all done in a minute.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
neatlyadverbUS /ˈniːtli/

with neatness

From this reading The mass of hay, with David in its center, slid neatly off the top of the cart to the ground.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The mass of hay, with David in its center, slid neatly off the top of the cart to the ground.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
offadverbUS /ɔːf/

from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)

From this reading The mass of hay, with David in its center, slid neatly off the top of the cart to the ground.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
outadjectiveUS /aʊt/

not allowed to continue to bat or run

From this reading THE BEAUTIFUL DAY “Hey there--look out for that boy!” roared the farmer.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
overprepositionUS /ˈoʊvər/

above and across; more than

From this reading Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
pitchforknounUS /ˈpɪtʃfɔːrk/

a long-handled hand tool with sharp widely spaced prongs for lifting and pitching hay

From this reading Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
restverbUS /rest/

not move; be in a resting position

From this reading Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
roaredverbUS /rɔːrd/

past form of “roar” — make a loud noise, as of wind, water, or vehicles

From this reading THE BEAUTIFUL DAY “Hey there--look out for that boy!” roared the farmer.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
seeverbUS /siː/

perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight

From this reading Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
slidverbUS /slɪd/

inflected form of “slide” — move obliquely or sideways, usually in an uncontrolled manner

From this reading The mass of hay, with David in its center, slid neatly off the top of the cart to the ground.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
startverbUS /stɑːrt/

take the first step or steps in carrying out an action

From this reading Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
statenounUS /steɪt/

the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation

From this reading Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading THE BEAUTIFUL DAY “Hey there--look out for that boy!” roared the farmer.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading THE BEAUTIFUL DAY “Hey there--look out for that boy!” roared the farmer.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
thereadverbUS /ðer/

in or at that place or location

From this reading THE BEAUTIFUL DAY “Hey there--look out for that boy!” roared the farmer.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading The mass of hay, with David in its center, slid neatly off the top of the cart to the ground.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
topnounUS /tɑːp/

the upper part of anything

From this reading The mass of hay, with David in its center, slid neatly off the top of the cart to the ground.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading It was all done in a minute.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
watchingnounUS /ˈwɑːtʃɪŋ/

the act of observing; taking a patient look

From this reading Bill, the hired man, pitchfork in hand, leaned over the edge in a state of great consternation, the rest of the laborers, the loading all completed, watching to see the cart start off for the barn.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading The mass of hay, with David in its center, slid neatly off the top of the cart to the ground.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Chapter 23 of Our Davie Pepper by Margaret Sidney holds 159 sentences, grouped into 32 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.

What does chapter 23 of Our Davie Pepper contain?

Chapter 23 holds 159 sentences of Our Davie Pepper, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 23 of Our Davie Pepper by Margaret Sidney exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 159 sentences, grouped into 32 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.

How do I study chapter 23 of Our Davie Pepper?

Work through the 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 32 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.

Can chapter 23 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 23 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.

Questions about reading Our Davie Pepper

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Vocabulary met early in Our Davie Pepper

Words and structures a reader meets early in Our Davie Pepper, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Chapter 1
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Chapter 2
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Chapter 3
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