Chapter 1 of Tales of War is here in full — 454 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Tales of War is here in full — 454 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Prayer of the Men of Daleswood He said: “There were only twenty houses in Daleswood. A place you would scarcely have heard of. A village up top of the hills. “When the war came there was no more than thirty men there between sixteen and forty-five. They all went.
Chapter 1 of Tales of War is here in full — 454 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/90 · 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.
a .45-caliber pistol
From this reading ““When the war came there was no more than thirty men there between sixteen and forty-five.”
plural of “hill” — a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading “A village up top of the hills.”
plural of “house” — a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading “The Prayer of the Men of Daleswood He said: “There were only twenty houses in Daleswood.”
the act of communicating with a deity (especially as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving)
From this reading “The Prayer of the Men of Daleswood He said: “There were only twenty houses in Daleswood.”
being one more than fifteen
From this reading ““When the war came there was no more than thirty men there between sixteen and forty-five.”
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and three
From this reading ““When the war came there was no more than thirty men there between sixteen and forty-five.”
the upper part of anything
From this reading “A village up top of the hills.”
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading “A village up top of the hills.”
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 place you would scarcely have heard of.
(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 They all went.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “When the war came there was no more than thirty men there between sixteen and forty-five.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading “When the war came there was no more than thirty men there between sixteen and forty-five.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading “When the war came there was no more than thirty men there between sixteen and forty-five.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Prayer of the Men of Daleswood He said: “There were only twenty houses in Daleswood.
a .45-caliber pistol
From this reading “When the war came there was no more than thirty men there between sixteen and forty-five.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading A place you would scarcely have heard of.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The Prayer of the Men of Daleswood He said: “There were only twenty houses in Daleswood.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading A place you would scarcely have heard of.
plural of “hill” — a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading A village up top of the hills.
plural of “house” — a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading The Prayer of the Men of Daleswood He said: “There were only twenty houses in Daleswood.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The Prayer of the Men of Daleswood He said: “There were only twenty houses in Daleswood.
the force of workers available
From this reading The Prayer of the Men of Daleswood He said: “There were only twenty houses in Daleswood.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading “When the war came there was no more than thirty men there between sixteen and forty-five.
not any; not one
From this reading “When the war came there was no more than thirty men there between sixteen and forty-five.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The Prayer of the Men of Daleswood He said: “There were only twenty houses in Daleswood.
and nothing more
From this reading The Prayer of the Men of Daleswood He said: “There were only twenty houses in Daleswood.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading A place you would scarcely have heard of.
the act of communicating with a deity (especially as a petition or in adoration or contrition or thanksgiving)
From this reading The Prayer of the Men of Daleswood He said: “There were only twenty houses in Daleswood.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading The Prayer of the Men of Daleswood He said: “There were only twenty houses in Daleswood.
only a very short time before
From this reading A place you would scarcely have heard of.
being one more than fifteen
From this reading “When the war came there was no more than thirty men there between sixteen and forty-five.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading “When the war came there was no more than thirty men there between sixteen and forty-five.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Prayer of the Men of Daleswood He said: “There were only twenty houses in Daleswood.
in or at that place or location
From this reading The Prayer of the Men of Daleswood He said: “There were only twenty houses in Daleswood.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They all went.
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and three
From this reading “When the war came there was no more than thirty men there between sixteen and forty-five.
the upper part of anything
From this reading A village up top of the hills.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one
From this reading The Prayer of the Men of Daleswood He said: “There were only twenty houses in Daleswood.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading A village up top of the hills.
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading A village up top of the hills.
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading “When the war came there was no more than thirty men there between sixteen and forty-five.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “When the war came there was no more than thirty men there between sixteen and forty-five.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading They all went.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The Prayer of the Men of Daleswood He said: “There were only twenty houses in Daleswood.
at the time that
From this reading “When the war came there was no more than thirty men there between sixteen and forty-five.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading A place you would scarcely have heard of.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading A place you would scarcely have heard of.
Chapter 1 of Tales of War by Lord Dunsany holds 454 sentences, grouped into 91 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 454 sentences of Tales of War, unabridged, divided into 91 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Tales of War by Lord Dunsany exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 454 sentences, grouped into 91 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 91 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 91 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 Tales of War by Lord Dunsany on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1347 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5713 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5713, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 112 minutes of reading across 270 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tales of War section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of Tales of War 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 War, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
