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Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book
Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book

Chapter II · The Seven Families

Chapter II of Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book, “The Seven Families,” is here in full — 7 sentences across 2 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Kate Douglas Smith [Editor] Wiggin • Curated US English Learning Edition
Cover illustration for Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book
Context Illustration Reading 1/1 · 7 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 7
There was a family of two old parrots and seven young parrots.
There was a family of two old storks and seven young storks.
There was a family of two old geese and seven young geese.
There was a family of two old owls and seven young owls.
There was a family of two old guinea-pigs and seven young guinea-pigs.
There was a family of two old cats and seven young cats.
And there was a family of two old fishes and seven young fishes.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book

Chapter II · The Seven Families

Chapter II of Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book, “The Seven Families,” is here in full — 7 sentences across 2 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/1 · 7 reading units · Lines 1–7

Line 1
There was a family of two old parrots and seven young parrots.
/ðer wɑːz ə ˈfæməli ʌv tuː oʊld ˈperəts ənd ˈsevən jʌŋ ˈperəts/
Line 2
There was a family of two old storks and seven young storks.
Line 3
There was a family of two old geese and seven young geese.
/ðer wɑːz ə ˈfæməli ʌv tuː oʊld ɡiːs ənd ˈsevən jʌŋ ɡiːs/
Line 4
There was a family of two old owls and seven young owls.
/ðer wɑːz ə ˈfæməli ʌv tuː oʊld aʊlz ənd ˈsevən jʌŋ aʊlz/
Line 5
There was a family of two old guinea-pigs and seven young guinea-pigs.
Line 6
There was a family of two old cats and seven young cats.
/ðer wɑːz ə ˈfæməli ʌv tuː oʊld kæts ənd ˈsevən jʌŋ kæts/
Line 7
And there was a family of two old fishes and seven young fishes.
/ənd ðer wɑːz ə ˈfæməli ʌv tuː oʊld ˈfɪʃəz ənd ˈsevən jʌŋ ˈfɪʃəz/

Learner Dictionary

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.

cats noun US /kæts/

plural of “cat” — feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats

From this reading “There was a family of two old cats and seven young cats.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
family noun US /ˈfæməli/

a social unit living together

From this reading “There was a family of two old parrots and seven young parrots.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
fishes noun US /ˈfɪʃəz/

plural of “fish” — any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills

From this reading “And there was a family of two old fishes and seven young fishes.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
geese noun US /ɡiːs/

plural of “goose” — web-footed long-necked typically gregarious migratory aquatic birds usually larger and less aquatic than ducks

From this reading “There was a family of two old geese and seven young geese.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
owls noun US /aʊlz/

plural of “owl” — nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes

From this reading “There was a family of two old owls and seven young owls.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
parrots noun US /ˈperəts/

plural of “parrot” — usually brightly colored zygodactyl tropical birds with short hooked beaks and the ability to mimic sounds

From this reading “There was a family of two old parrots and seven young parrots.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
seven noun US /ˈsevən/

the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one

From this reading “There was a family of two old parrots and seven young parrots.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
young adjective US /jʌŋ/

(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth

From this reading “There was a family of two old parrots and seven young parrots.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

old owls adjective + noun counted as “old owl”

In this reading “There was a family of two old owls and seven young owls.”

290 times in 426,211 chapters

All words in this reading · 17

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading There was a family of two old parrots and seven young parrots.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading There was a family of two old parrots and seven young parrots.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
catsnounUS /kæts/

plural of “cat” — feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats

From this reading There was a family of two old cats and seven young cats.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
familynounUS /ˈfæməli/

a social unit living together

From this reading There was a family of two old parrots and seven young parrots.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
fishesnounUS /ˈfɪʃəz/

plural of “fish” — any of various mostly cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills

From this reading And there was a family of two old fishes and seven young fishes.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
geesenounUS /ɡiːs/

plural of “goose” — web-footed long-necked typically gregarious migratory aquatic birds usually larger and less aquatic than ducks

From this reading There was a family of two old geese and seven young geese.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
guinea-pigs

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was a family of two old guinea-pigs and seven young guinea-pigs.

Pending verification
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading There was a family of two old parrots and seven young parrots.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
oldadjectiveUS /oʊld/

(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age

From this reading There was a family of two old parrots and seven young parrots.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
owlsnounUS /aʊlz/

plural of “owl” — nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes

From this reading There was a family of two old owls and seven young owls.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
parrotsnounUS /ˈperəts/

plural of “parrot” — usually brightly colored zygodactyl tropical birds with short hooked beaks and the ability to mimic sounds

From this reading There was a family of two old parrots and seven young parrots.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
sevennounUS /ˈsevən/

the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one

From this reading There was a family of two old parrots and seven young parrots.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
storks

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was a family of two old storks and seven young storks.

Pending verification
ThereadverbUS /ðer/

in or at that place or location

From this reading There was a family of two old parrots and seven young parrots.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
twonounUS /tuː/

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number

From this reading There was a family of two old parrots and seven young parrots.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading There was a family of two old parrots and seven young parrots.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
youngadjectiveUS /jʌŋ/

(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth

From this reading There was a family of two old parrots and seven young parrots.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Chapter 2 of Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book by Kate Douglas Smith [Editor] Wiggin holds 7 sentences, grouped into 2 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.

What does chapter 2 of Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book contain?

Chapter 2 holds 7 sentences of Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book, unabridged, divided into 2 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 2 of Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book by Kate Douglas Smith [Editor] Wiggin exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 7 sentences, grouped into 2 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.

How do I study chapter 2 of Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book?

Work through the 2 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 2 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.

Can chapter 2 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book

Common questions about reading Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book by Kate Douglas Smith [Editor] Wiggin on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book?

Yes. All 6774 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #54734 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #54734, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book take to read?

About 564 minutes of reading across 1355 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book section by section

How to work through Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 10 chapters of Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book

Words and structures a reader meets early in Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Laugh
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Smile
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Little
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Friend
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Tales of Laughter: A Third Fairy Book; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.