Chapter 5 of Prosper Mérimée's Short Stories is here in full — 384 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Prosper Mérimée's Short Stories is here in full — 384 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Fortunato!” cried Mateo. “Fortunato!” echoed Giuseppa. “Yes, Gianetto was hidden under the haystack yonder; but my little cousin showed me the trick. And I’ll tell his uncle the _caporal_, so that he’ll send him a handsome present for his trouble. And his name and yours will be in the report I shall send the advocate-general.”
Chapter 5 of Prosper Mérimée's Short Stories is here in full — 384 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/76 · 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.
the child of your aunt or uncle
From this reading ““Yes, Gianetto was hidden under the haystack yonder; but my little cousin showed me the trick.”
past form of “echo” — to say again or imitate
From this reading ““Fortunato!” echoed Giuseppa.”
pleasing in appearance especially by reason of conformity to ideals of form and proportion
From this reading “And I’ll tell his uncle the _caporal_, so that he’ll send him a handsome present for his trouble.”
a stack of hay
From this reading ““Yes, Gianetto was hidden under the haystack yonder; but my little cousin showed me the trick.”
not accessible to view
From this reading ““Yes, Gianetto was hidden under the haystack yonder; but my little cousin showed me the trick.”
to give an account or representation of in words
From this reading “And his name and yours will be in the report I shall send the advocate-general.””
a cunning or deceitful action or device
From this reading ““Yes, Gianetto was hidden under the haystack yonder; but my little cousin showed me the trick.”
distant but within sight (“yon” is dialectal)
From this reading ““Yes, Gianetto was hidden under the haystack yonder; but my little cousin showed me the trick.”
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.
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 And I’ll tell his uncle the _caporal_, so that he’ll send him a handsome present for his trouble.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And his name and yours will be in the report I shall send the advocate-general.”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And I’ll tell his uncle the _caporal_, so that he’ll send him a handsome present for his trouble.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading And his name and yours will be in the report I shall send the advocate-general.”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “Yes, Gianetto was hidden under the haystack yonder; but my little cousin showed me the trick.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And I’ll tell his uncle the _caporal_, so that he’ll send him a handsome present for his trouble.
the child of your aunt or uncle
From this reading “Yes, Gianetto was hidden under the haystack yonder; but my little cousin showed me the trick.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “Fortunato!” cried Mateo.
past form of “echo” — to say again or imitate
From this reading “Fortunato!” echoed Giuseppa.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading And I’ll tell his uncle the _caporal_, so that he’ll send him a handsome present for his trouble.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Fortunato!” cried Mateo.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Yes, Gianetto was hidden under the haystack yonder; but my little cousin showed me the trick.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Fortunato!” echoed Giuseppa.
pleasing in appearance especially by reason of conformity to ideals of form and proportion
From this reading And I’ll tell his uncle the _caporal_, so that he’ll send him a handsome present for his trouble.
a stack of hay
From this reading “Yes, Gianetto was hidden under the haystack yonder; but my little cousin showed me the trick.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And I’ll tell his uncle the _caporal_, so that he’ll send him a handsome present for his trouble.
not accessible to view
From this reading “Yes, Gianetto was hidden under the haystack yonder; but my little cousin showed me the trick.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading And I’ll tell his uncle the _caporal_, so that he’ll send him a handsome present for his trouble.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading And I’ll tell his uncle the _caporal_, so that he’ll send him a handsome present for his trouble.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading And his name and yours will be in the report I shall send the advocate-general.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And I’ll tell his uncle the _caporal_, so that he’ll send him a handsome present for his trouble.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading And his name and yours will be in the report I shall send the advocate-general.”
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “Yes, Gianetto was hidden under the haystack yonder; but my little cousin showed me the trick.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Fortunato!” cried Mateo.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Yes, Gianetto was hidden under the haystack yonder; but my little cousin showed me the trick.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “Yes, Gianetto was hidden under the haystack yonder; but my little cousin showed me the trick.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading And his name and yours will be in the report I shall send the advocate-general.”
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading And I’ll tell his uncle the _caporal_, so that he’ll send him a handsome present for his trouble.
to give an account or representation of in words
From this reading And his name and yours will be in the report I shall send the advocate-general.”
cause to go somewhere
From this reading And I’ll tell his uncle the _caporal_, so that he’ll send him a handsome present for his trouble.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading And his name and yours will be in the report I shall send the advocate-general.”
past form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading “Yes, Gianetto was hidden under the haystack yonder; but my little cousin showed me the trick.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading And I’ll tell his uncle the _caporal_, so that he’ll send him a handsome present for his trouble.
express in words
From this reading And I’ll tell his uncle the _caporal_, so that he’ll send him a handsome present for his trouble.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading And I’ll tell his uncle the _caporal_, so that he’ll send him a handsome present for his trouble.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Yes, Gianetto was hidden under the haystack yonder; but my little cousin showed me the trick.
a cunning or deceitful action or device
From this reading “Yes, Gianetto was hidden under the haystack yonder; but my little cousin showed me the trick.
a source of difficulty
From this reading And I’ll tell his uncle the _caporal_, so that he’ll send him a handsome present for his trouble.
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading And I’ll tell his uncle the _caporal_, so that he’ll send him a handsome present for his trouble.
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading “Yes, Gianetto was hidden under the haystack yonder; but my little cousin showed me the trick.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Yes, Gianetto was hidden under the haystack yonder; but my little cousin showed me the trick.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading And his name and yours will be in the report I shall send the advocate-general.”
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes, Gianetto was hidden under the haystack yonder; but my little cousin showed me the trick.
distant but within sight (“yon” is dialectal)
From this reading “Yes, Gianetto was hidden under the haystack yonder; but my little cousin showed me the trick.
the one or ones belonging to the person spoken to
From this reading And his name and yours will be in the report I shall send the advocate-general.”
Chapter 5 of Prosper Mérimée's Short Stories by Prosper Mérimée holds 384 sentences, grouped into 77 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 384 sentences of Prosper Mérimée's Short Stories, unabridged, divided into 77 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Prosper Mérimée's Short Stories by Prosper Mérimée exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 384 sentences, grouped into 77 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 77 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 77 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 Prosper Mérimée's Short Stories by Prosper Mérimée on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2468 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #67643 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #67643, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 205 minutes of reading across 494 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Prosper Mérimée's Short Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Prosper Mérimée's Short Stories 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 Prosper Mérimée's Short Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
