Chapter 6 of Tales From Scottish Ballads is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of Tales From Scottish Ballads is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
But the wedding guests came trooping out, and when they heard the story they shook their heads. "A likely tale," they cried. "Who is to believe it? If she be really the King of France's daughter, how came she here alone, save for those two maidens?" But some of them looked at the jewelled girdles, and held their peace.
Chapter 6 of Tales From Scottish Ballads is here in full — 416 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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 “france” — a republic in western Europe; the largest country wholly in Europe
From this reading “If she be really the King of France's daughter, how came she here alone, save for those two maidens?"”
plural of “guest” — a visitor to whom hospitality is extended
From this reading “But the wedding guests came trooping out, and when they heard the story they shook their heads.”
plural of “head” — the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading “But the wedding guests came trooping out, and when they heard the story they shook their heads.”
has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
From this reading “"A likely tale," they cried.”
plural of “maiden” — an unmarried girl (especially a virgin)
From this reading “If she be really the King of France's daughter, how came she here alone, save for those two maidens?"”
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “"A likely tale," they cried.”
-ing form of “troop” — march in a procession
From this reading “But the wedding guests came trooping out, and when they heard the story they shook their heads.”
the social event at which the ceremony of marriage is performed
From this reading “But the wedding guests came trooping out, and when they heard the story they shook their heads.”
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 "A likely tale," they cried.
Having no one else present.
From this reading If she be really the King of France's daughter, how came she here alone, save for those two maidens?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading But the wedding guests came trooping out, and when they heard the story they shook their heads.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading But some of them looked at the jewelled girdles, and held their peace.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading If she be really the King of France's daughter, how came she here alone, save for those two maidens?"
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading "Who is to believe it?
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But the wedding guests came trooping out, and when they heard the story they shook their heads.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading But the wedding guests came trooping out, and when they heard the story they shook their heads.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "A likely tale," they cried.
a female human offspring
From this reading If she be really the King of France's daughter, how came she here alone, save for those two maidens?"
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading If she be really the King of France's daughter, how came she here alone, save for those two maidens?"
possessive form of “france” — a republic in western Europe; the largest country wholly in Europe
From this reading If she be really the King of France's daughter, how came she here alone, save for those two maidens?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But some of them looked at the jewelled girdles, and held their peace.
plural of “guest” — a visitor to whom hospitality is extended
From this reading But the wedding guests came trooping out, and when they heard the story they shook their heads.
plural of “head” — the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading But the wedding guests came trooping out, and when they heard the story they shook their heads.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading But the wedding guests came trooping out, and when they heard the story they shook their heads.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading But some of them looked at the jewelled girdles, and held their peace.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading If she be really the King of France's daughter, how came she here alone, save for those two maidens?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If she be really the King of France's daughter, how came she here alone, save for those two maidens?"
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If she be really the King of France's daughter, how came she here alone, save for those two maidens?"
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Who is to believe it?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Who is to believe it?
covered with beads or jewels or sequins
From this reading But some of them looked at the jewelled girdles, and held their peace.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading If she be really the King of France's daughter, how came she here alone, save for those two maidens?"
has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
From this reading "A likely tale," they cried.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading But some of them looked at the jewelled girdles, and held their peace.
plural of “maiden” — an unmarried girl (especially a virgin)
From this reading If she be really the King of France's daughter, how came she here alone, save for those two maidens?"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading If she be really the King of France's daughter, how came she here alone, save for those two maidens?"
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading But the wedding guests came trooping out, and when they heard the story they shook their heads.
the state prevailing during the absence of war
From this reading But some of them looked at the jewelled girdles, and held their peace.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading If she be really the King of France's daughter, how came she here alone, save for those two maidens?"
except for; apart from
From this reading If she be really the King of France's daughter, how came she here alone, save for those two maidens?"
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading If she be really the King of France's daughter, how came she here alone, save for those two maidens?"
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading But the wedding guests came trooping out, and when they heard the story they shook their heads.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading But some of them looked at the jewelled girdles, and held their peace.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading But the wedding guests came trooping out, and when they heard the story they shook their heads.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading "A likely tale," they cried.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But the wedding guests came trooping out, and when they heard the story they shook their heads.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading But the wedding guests came trooping out, and when they heard the story they shook their heads.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading But some of them looked at the jewelled girdles, and held their peace.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But the wedding guests came trooping out, and when they heard the story they shook their heads.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading If she be really the King of France's daughter, how came she here alone, save for those two maidens?"
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Who is to believe it?
-ing form of “troop” — march in a procession
From this reading But the wedding guests came trooping out, and when they heard the story they shook their heads.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading If she be really the King of France's daughter, how came she here alone, save for those two maidens?"
the social event at which the ceremony of marriage is performed
From this reading But the wedding guests came trooping out, and when they heard the story they shook their heads.
at the time that
From this reading But the wedding guests came trooping out, and when they heard the story they shook their heads.
which person or people
From this reading "Who is to believe it?
Chapter 6 of Tales From Scottish Ballads by Elizabeth W. (Elizabeth Wilson) Grierson holds 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 6 holds 416 sentences of Tales From Scottish Ballads, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of Tales From Scottish Ballads by Elizabeth W. (Elizabeth Wilson) Grierson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 416 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 6 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 Tales From Scottish Ballads by Elizabeth W. (Elizabeth Wilson) Grierson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2654 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #28424 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #28424, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 221 minutes of reading across 531 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tales From Scottish Ballads section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Tales From Scottish Ballads 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 Tales From Scottish Ballads, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
