Chapter 16 of Polly of Lady Gay Cottage is here in full — 144 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Polly of Lady Gay Cottage is here in full — 144 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals. "Don't do that!" begged Polly. "It doesn't want to be eaten up." The boy laughed, looking ruefully down at the jagged edges of the flower. "It isn't sweet anyway," he argued.
Chapter 16 of Polly of Lady Gay Cottage is here in full — 144 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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.
past form of “argue” — present reasons and arguments
From this reading “"It isn't sweet anyway," he argued.”
a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems
From this reading “ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.”
chew (food); to bite and grind with the teeth
From this reading “ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.”
plural of “edge” — the boundary of a surface
From this reading “The boy laughed, looking ruefully down at the jagged edges of the flower.”
having a sharply uneven surface or outline
From this reading “The boy laughed, looking ruefully down at the jagged edges of the flower.”
plural of “petal” — part of the perianth that is usually brightly colored
From this reading “ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.”
in a rueful manner
From this reading “The boy laughed, looking ruefully down at the jagged edges of the flower.”
plural of “thorn” — something that causes irritation and annoyance
From this reading “ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.”
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 ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.
used to indicate that a statement explains or supports a previous statement
From this reading "It isn't sweet anyway," he argued.
past form of “argue” — present reasons and arguments
From this reading "It isn't sweet anyway," he argued.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The boy laughed, looking ruefully down at the jagged edges of the flower.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "It doesn't want to be eaten up."
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.
inflected form of “beg” — call upon in supplication; entreat
From this reading "Don't do that!" begged Polly.
a youthful male person
From this reading The boy laughed, looking ruefully down at the jagged edges of the flower.
a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems
From this reading ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.
chew (food); to bite and grind with the teeth
From this reading ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.
a place off to the side of an area
From this reading ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.
patron saint of Wales (circa 520-600)
From this reading ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Don't do that!" begged Polly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It doesn't want to be eaten up."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Don't do that!" begged Polly.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The boy laughed, looking ruefully down at the jagged edges of the flower.
inflected form of “eat” — take in solid food
From this reading "It doesn't want to be eaten up."
plural of “edge” — the boundary of a surface
From this reading The boy laughed, looking ruefully down at the jagged edges of the flower.
a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading The boy laughed, looking ruefully down at the jagged edges of the flower.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "It isn't sweet anyway," he argued.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It isn't sweet anyway," he argued.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "It doesn't want to be eaten up."
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.
having a sharply uneven surface or outline
From this reading The boy laughed, looking ruefully down at the jagged edges of the flower.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading The boy laughed, looking ruefully down at the jagged edges of the flower.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading The boy laughed, looking ruefully down at the jagged edges of the flower.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The boy laughed, looking ruefully down at the jagged edges of the flower.
plural of “petal” — part of the perianth that is usually brightly colored
From this reading ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Don't do that!" begged Polly.
past form of “pull” — cause to move by pulling
From this reading ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.
plural of “rose” — any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.
in a rueful manner
From this reading The boy laughed, looking ruefully down at the jagged edges of the flower.
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading "It isn't sweet anyway," he argued.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Don't do that!" begged Polly.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.
plural of “thorn” — something that causes irritation and annoyance
From this reading ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading ROSES AND THORNS David pulled a rose from the little bush by the house corner, and began to chew its petals.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading "It doesn't want to be eaten up."
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading "It doesn't want to be eaten up."
Chapter 16 of Polly of Lady Gay Cottage by Emma C. Dowd holds 144 sentences, grouped into 29 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 16 holds 144 sentences of Polly of Lady Gay Cottage, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Polly of Lady Gay Cottage by Emma C. Dowd exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 144 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 16 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 Polly of Lady Gay Cottage by Emma C. Dowd on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3412 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #29088 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #29088, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 284 minutes of reading across 683 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Polly of Lady Gay Cottage section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 20 chapters of Polly of Lady Gay Cottage 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 Polly of Lady Gay Cottage, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
