Chapter 4 of Tales of the Birds is here in full — 488 sentences across 98 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Tales of the Birds is here in full — 488 sentences across 98 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“He said I was to have change of scene, and cold water, and--” “Exactly,” said the crow. “He’s quite wrong. You would certainly have died if you hadn’t come to me. You are suffering from a _tumor inquisitivus esuriens_ of a very virulent kind. I can take it out for you.”
Chapter 4 of Tales of the Birds is here in full — 488 sentences across 98 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/97 · 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.
dwell on with satisfaction
From this reading ““He said I was to have change of scene, and cold water, and--” “Exactly,” said the crow.”
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading “You would certainly have died if you hadn’t come to me.”
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading ““He said I was to have change of scene, and cold water, and--” “Exactly,” said the crow.”
the place where some action occurs
From this reading ““He said I was to have change of scene, and cold water, and--” “Exactly,” said the crow.”
a state of acute pain
From this reading “You are suffering from a _tumor inquisitivus esuriens_ of a very virulent kind.”
an abnormal new mass of tissue that serves no purpose
extremely poisonous or injurious; producing venom
From this reading “You are suffering from a _tumor inquisitivus esuriens_ of a very virulent kind.”
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading ““He’s quite wrong.”
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.
disparagement of a plan or hope or expectation
In this reading ““He said I was to have change of scene, and cold water, and--” “Exactly,” said the crow.”
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 You are suffering from a _tumor inquisitivus esuriens_ of a very virulent kind.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “He said I was to have change of scene, and cold water, and--” “Exactly,” said the crow.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading You are suffering from a _tumor inquisitivus esuriens_ of a very virulent kind.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading I can take it out for you.”
definitely or positively (“sure” is sometimes used informally for “surely”)
From this reading You would certainly have died if you hadn’t come to me.
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading “He said I was to have change of scene, and cold water, and--” “Exactly,” said the crow.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading “He said I was to have change of scene, and cold water, and--” “Exactly,” said the crow.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading You would certainly have died if you hadn’t come to me.
dwell on with satisfaction
From this reading “He said I was to have change of scene, and cold water, and--” “Exactly,” said the crow.
past form of “die” — pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading You would certainly have died if you hadn’t come to me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You are suffering from a _tumor inquisitivus esuriens_ of a very virulent kind.
indicating exactness or preciseness
From this reading “He said I was to have change of scene, and cold water, and--” “Exactly,” said the crow.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I can take it out for you.”
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading You are suffering from a _tumor inquisitivus esuriens_ of a very virulent kind.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You would certainly have died if you hadn’t come to me.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “He said I was to have change of scene, and cold water, and--” “Exactly,” said the crow.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “He said I was to have change of scene, and cold water, and--” “Exactly,” said the crow.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “He’s quite wrong.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “He said I was to have change of scene, and cold water, and--” “Exactly,” said the crow.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading You would certainly have died if you hadn’t come to me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You are suffering from a _tumor inquisitivus esuriens_ of a very virulent kind.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I can take it out for you.”
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading You are suffering from a _tumor inquisitivus esuriens_ of a very virulent kind.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading You would certainly have died if you hadn’t come to me.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “He said I was to have change of scene, and cold water, and--” “Exactly,” said the crow.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading I can take it out for you.”
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading “He’s quite wrong.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “He said I was to have change of scene, and cold water, and--” “Exactly,” said the crow.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading “He said I was to have change of scene, and cold water, and--” “Exactly,” said the crow.
a state of acute pain
From this reading You are suffering from a _tumor inquisitivus esuriens_ of a very virulent kind.
carry out
From this reading I can take it out for you.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “He said I was to have change of scene, and cold water, and--” “Exactly,” said the crow.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “He said I was to have change of scene, and cold water, and--” “Exactly,” said the crow.
an abnormal new mass of tissue that serves no purpose
From this reading You are suffering from a _tumor inquisitivus esuriens_ of a very virulent kind.
precisely as stated
From this reading You are suffering from a _tumor inquisitivus esuriens_ of a very virulent kind.
extremely poisonous or injurious; producing venom
From this reading You are suffering from a _tumor inquisitivus esuriens_ of a very virulent kind.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “He said I was to have change of scene, and cold water, and--” “Exactly,” said the crow.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading “He said I was to have change of scene, and cold water, and--” “Exactly,” said the crow.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading You would certainly have died if you hadn’t come to me.
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading “He’s quite wrong.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You would certainly have died if you hadn’t come to me.
Chapter 4 of Tales of the Birds by W. Warde (William Warde) Fowler holds 488 sentences, grouped into 98 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 4 holds 488 sentences of Tales of the Birds, unabridged, divided into 98 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Tales of the Birds by W. Warde (William Warde) Fowler exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 488 sentences, grouped into 98 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 98 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 98 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 4 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 of the Birds by W. Warde (William Warde) Fowler on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1989 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #49780 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #49780, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 165 minutes of reading across 398 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tales of the Birds section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of Tales of the Birds 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 of the Birds, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
