Chapter 2 of Sonny, a Christmas Guest is here in full — 604 sentences across 121 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Sonny, a Christmas Guest is here in full — 604 sentences across 121 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Sir! Sonny's pets? Oh, they're all sorts. He ain't no ways partic'lar thess so a thing is po' an' miser'ble enough. That's about all he seems to require of anything.
Chapter 2 of Sonny, a Christmas Guest is here in full — 604 sentences across 121 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/120 · 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.
any thing at all
From this reading “That's about all he seems to require of anything.”
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading “He ain't no ways partic'lar thess so a thing is po' an' miser'ble enough.”
plural of “pet” — a domesticated animal kept for companionship or amusement
From this reading “Sonny's pets?”
require as useful, just, or proper
From this reading “That's about all he seems to require of anything.”
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading “That's about all he seems to require of anything.”
possessive form of “sonny” — a male child (a familiar term of address to a boy)
From this reading “Sonny's pets?”
plural of “sort” — a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading “Oh, they're all sorts.”
structure consisting of a sloping way down to the water from the place where ships are built or repaired
From this reading “He ain't no ways partic'lar thess so a thing is po' an' miser'ble enough.”
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 He ain't no ways partic'lar thess so a thing is po' an' miser'ble enough.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading That's about all he seems to require of anything.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He ain't no ways partic'lar thess so a thing is po' an' miser'ble enough.
(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 Oh, they're all sorts.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading He ain't no ways partic'lar thess so a thing is po' an' miser'ble enough.
any thing at all
From this reading That's about all he seems to require of anything.
an adequate quantity; a quantity that is large enough to achieve a purpose
From this reading He ain't no ways partic'lar thess so a thing is po' an' miser'ble enough.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He ain't no ways partic'lar thess so a thing is po' an' miser'ble enough.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He ain't no ways partic'lar thess so a thing is po' an' miser'ble enough.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He ain't no ways partic'lar thess so a thing is po' an' miser'ble enough.
not any; not one
From this reading He ain't no ways partic'lar thess so a thing is po' an' miser'ble enough.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading That's about all he seems to require of anything.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh, they're all sorts.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He ain't no ways partic'lar thess so a thing is po' an' miser'ble enough.
plural of “pet” — a domesticated animal kept for companionship or amusement
From this reading Sonny's pets?
a radioactive metallic element that is similar to tellurium and bismuth; occurs in uranium ores but can be produced by bombarding bismuth with neutrons in a nuclear reactor
From this reading He ain't no ways partic'lar thess so a thing is po' an' miser'ble enough.
require as useful, just, or proper
From this reading That's about all he seems to require of anything.
third-person singular of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading That's about all he seems to require of anything.
term of address for a man
From this reading Sir!
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading He ain't no ways partic'lar thess so a thing is po' an' miser'ble enough.
possessive form of “sonny” — a male child (a familiar term of address to a boy)
From this reading Sonny's pets?
plural of “sort” — a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading Oh, they're all sorts.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That's about all he seems to require of anything.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He ain't no ways partic'lar thess so a thing is po' an' miser'ble enough.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Oh, they're all sorts.
a special situation
From this reading He ain't no ways partic'lar thess so a thing is po' an' miser'ble enough.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading That's about all he seems to require of anything.
structure consisting of a sloping way down to the water from the place where ships are built or repaired
From this reading He ain't no ways partic'lar thess so a thing is po' an' miser'ble enough.
Chapter 2 of Sonny, a Christmas Guest by Ruth McEnery Stuart holds 604 sentences, grouped into 121 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 2 holds 604 sentences of Sonny, a Christmas Guest, unabridged, divided into 121 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Sonny, a Christmas Guest by Ruth McEnery Stuart exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 604 sentences, grouped into 121 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 121 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 121 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 2 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 Sonny, a Christmas Guest by Ruth McEnery Stuart on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1178 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11084 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11084, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 98 minutes of reading across 236 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sonny, a Christmas Guest section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Sonny, a Christmas Guest 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 Sonny, a Christmas Guest, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
