Chapter 1 of Sweet Cicely is here in full — 372 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Sweet Cicely is here in full — 372 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
By “Josiah Allen's Wife”: Marietta Holley This Book is Dedicated. PREFACE. Josiah and me got to talkin' it over. He said it wuzn't right to think more of one child than you did of another. And I says, “That is so, Josiah.”
Chapter 1 of Sweet Cicely is here in full — 372 sentences across 75 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/74 · 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.
possessive form of “allen” — United States comedienne remembered as the confused but imperturbable partner of her husband, George Burns (1906-1964)
From this reading “By “Josiah Allen's Wife”: Marietta Holley This Book is Dedicated.”
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading “By “Josiah Allen's Wife”: Marietta Holley This Book is Dedicated.”
a young person of either sex
From this reading “He said it wuzn't right to think more of one child than you did of another.”
devoted to a cause or ideal or purpose
From this reading “By “Josiah Allen's Wife”: Marietta Holley This Book is Dedicated.”
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading “Josiah and me got to talkin' it over.”
a short introductory essay preceding the text of a book
From this reading “PREFACE.”
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading “And I says, “That is so, Josiah.””
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading “By “Josiah Allen's Wife”: Marietta Holley This Book is Dedicated.”
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.
possessive form of “allen” — United States comedienne remembered as the confused but imperturbable partner of her husband, George Burns (1906-1964)
From this reading By “Josiah Allen's Wife”: Marietta Holley This Book is Dedicated.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Josiah and me got to talkin' it over.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading He said it wuzn't right to think more of one child than you did of another.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading By “Josiah Allen's Wife”: Marietta Holley This Book is Dedicated.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By “Josiah Allen's Wife”: Marietta Holley This Book is Dedicated.
a young person of either sex
From this reading He said it wuzn't right to think more of one child than you did of another.
devoted to a cause or ideal or purpose
From this reading By “Josiah Allen's Wife”: Marietta Holley This Book is Dedicated.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading He said it wuzn't right to think more of one child than you did of another.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Josiah and me got to talkin' it over.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He said it wuzn't right to think more of one child than you did of another.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By “Josiah Allen's Wife”: Marietta Holley This Book is Dedicated.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading And I says, “That is so, Josiah.”
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading By “Josiah Allen's Wife”: Marietta Holley This Book is Dedicated.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Josiah and me got to talkin' it over.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By “Josiah Allen's Wife”: Marietta Holley This Book is Dedicated.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By “Josiah Allen's Wife”: Marietta Holley This Book is Dedicated.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Josiah and me got to talkin' it over.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading He said it wuzn't right to think more of one child than you did of another.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He said it wuzn't right to think more of one child than you did of another.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading He said it wuzn't right to think more of one child than you did of another.
above and across; more than
From this reading Josiah and me got to talkin' it over.
a short introductory essay preceding the text of a book
From this reading PREFACE.
precisely, exactly
From this reading He said it wuzn't right to think more of one child than you did of another.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading He said it wuzn't right to think more of one child than you did of another.
plural of “say” — the chance to speak
From this reading And I says, “That is so, Josiah.”
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading And I says, “That is so, Josiah.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Josiah and me got to talkin' it over.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading He said it wuzn't right to think more of one child than you did of another.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading And I says, “That is so, Josiah.”
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading He said it wuzn't right to think more of one child than you did of another.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading By “Josiah Allen's Wife”: Marietta Holley This Book is Dedicated.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Josiah and me got to talkin' it over.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading By “Josiah Allen's Wife”: Marietta Holley This Book is Dedicated.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He said it wuzn't right to think more of one child than you did of another.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading He said it wuzn't right to think more of one child than you did of another.
Chapter 1 of Sweet Cicely by Marietta Holley holds 372 sentences, grouped into 75 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 372 sentences of Sweet Cicely, unabridged, divided into 75 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Sweet Cicely by Marietta Holley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 372 sentences, grouped into 75 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 75 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 75 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 Sweet Cicely by Marietta Holley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sweet Cicely section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Sweet Cicely 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 Sweet Cicely, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
