Chapter 1 of Piccolissima is here in full — 458 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Piccolissima is here in full — 458 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
With a sudden familiarity he murmured in a low voice, "Art thou, perhaps, an elder sister of mine? Thou warmest me. Art thou placed in the sun to strengthen thy wings? Relate to me, quickly, thy metamorphosis whilst I dry myself. Let us see, hast thou been a caterpillar, a worm?
Chapter 1 of Piccolissima is here in full — 458 sentences across 92 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 22/91 · 5 reading units · Lines 106–110
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 wormlike and often brightly colored and hairy or spiny larva of a butterfly or moth
From this reading “Let us see, hast thou been a caterpillar, a worm?”
a person who is older than you are
From this reading “With a sudden familiarity he murmured in a low voice, "Art thou, perhaps, an elder sister of mine?”
personal knowledge or information about someone or something
From this reading “With a sudden familiarity he murmured in a low voice, "Art thou, perhaps, an elder sister of mine?”
A change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one.
From this reading “Relate to me, quickly, thy metamorphosis whilst I dry myself.”
make a logical or causal connection
From this reading “Relate to me, quickly, thy metamorphosis whilst I dry myself.”
make strong or stronger
From this reading “Art thou placed in the sun to strengthen thy wings?”
superlative of “warm” — having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading “Thou warmest me.”
any of numerous relatively small elongated soft-bodied animals especially of the phyla Annelida and Chaetognatha and Nematoda and Nemertea and Platyhelminthes; also many insect larvae
From this reading “Let us see, hast thou been a caterpillar, a worm?”
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 With a sudden familiarity he murmured in a low voice, "Art thou, perhaps, an elder sister of mine?
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading With a sudden familiarity he murmured in a low voice, "Art thou, perhaps, an elder sister of mine?
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading With a sudden familiarity he murmured in a low voice, "Art thou, perhaps, an elder sister of mine?
the past participle of “be”
From this reading Let us see, hast thou been a caterpillar, a worm?
a wormlike and often brightly colored and hairy or spiny larva of a butterfly or moth
From this reading Let us see, hast thou been a caterpillar, a worm?
free from liquid or moisture; lacking natural or normal moisture or depleted of water; or no longer wet
From this reading Relate to me, quickly, thy metamorphosis whilst I dry myself.
a person who is older than you are
From this reading With a sudden familiarity he murmured in a low voice, "Art thou, perhaps, an elder sister of mine?
personal knowledge or information about someone or something
From this reading With a sudden familiarity he murmured in a low voice, "Art thou, perhaps, an elder sister of mine?
an old form of “have”, used with “thou”
From this reading Let us see, hast thou been a caterpillar, a worm?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading With a sudden familiarity he murmured in a low voice, "Art thou, perhaps, an elder sister of mine?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Relate to me, quickly, thy metamorphosis whilst I dry myself.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading With a sudden familiarity he murmured in a low voice, "Art thou, perhaps, an elder sister of mine?
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Let us see, hast thou been a caterpillar, a worm?
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading With a sudden familiarity he murmured in a low voice, "Art thou, perhaps, an elder sister of mine?
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Thou warmest me.
A change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one.
From this reading Relate to me, quickly, thy metamorphosis whilst I dry myself.
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading With a sudden familiarity he murmured in a low voice, "Art thou, perhaps, an elder sister of mine?
past form of “murmur” — speak softly or indistinctly
From this reading With a sudden familiarity he murmured in a low voice, "Art thou, perhaps, an elder sister of mine?
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading Relate to me, quickly, thy metamorphosis whilst I dry myself.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading With a sudden familiarity he murmured in a low voice, "Art thou, perhaps, an elder sister of mine?
by chance
From this reading With a sudden familiarity he murmured in a low voice, "Art thou, perhaps, an elder sister of mine?
situated in a particular spot or position
From this reading Art thou placed in the sun to strengthen thy wings?
with speed
From this reading Relate to me, quickly, thy metamorphosis whilst I dry myself.
make a logical or causal connection
From this reading Relate to me, quickly, thy metamorphosis whilst I dry myself.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Let us see, hast thou been a caterpillar, a worm?
a female person who has the same parents as another person
From this reading With a sudden familiarity he murmured in a low voice, "Art thou, perhaps, an elder sister of mine?
make strong or stronger
From this reading Art thou placed in the sun to strengthen thy wings?
happening without warning or in a short space of time
From this reading With a sudden familiarity he murmured in a low voice, "Art thou, perhaps, an elder sister of mine?
the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system
From this reading Art thou placed in the sun to strengthen thy wings?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Art thou placed in the sun to strengthen thy wings?
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading With a sudden familiarity he murmured in a low voice, "Art thou, perhaps, an elder sister of mine?
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading Art thou placed in the sun to strengthen thy wings?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Art thou placed in the sun to strengthen thy wings?
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Let us see, hast thou been a caterpillar, a worm?
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading With a sudden familiarity he murmured in a low voice, "Art thou, perhaps, an elder sister of mine?
superlative of “warm” — having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading Thou warmest me.
an old and formal word for “while”
From this reading Relate to me, quickly, thy metamorphosis whilst I dry myself.
a means of flight or ascent
From this reading Art thou placed in the sun to strengthen thy wings?
in the company of; together with
From this reading With a sudden familiarity he murmured in a low voice, "Art thou, perhaps, an elder sister of mine?
any of numerous relatively small elongated soft-bodied animals especially of the phyla Annelida and Chaetognatha and Nematoda and Nemertea and Platyhelminthes; also many insect larvae
From this reading Let us see, hast thou been a caterpillar, a worm?
Chapter 1 of Piccolissima by Adélaïde de Montgolfier holds 458 sentences, grouped into 92 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 1 holds 458 sentences of Piccolissima, unabridged, divided into 92 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Piccolissima by Adélaïde de Montgolfier exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 458 sentences, grouped into 92 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 92 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 92 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 Piccolissima by Adélaïde de Montgolfier on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 458 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4049 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4049, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 38 minutes of reading across 92 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Piccolissima section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Piccolissima 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 Piccolissima, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
