Chapter 1 of That Little Beggar is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of That Little Beggar is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"No carriage! Are you quite sure? Mrs. Wyndham told me that she would send to meet this train." I looked anxiously at the station-master as I spoke. I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.
Chapter 1 of That Little Beggar is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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.
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading “I looked anxiously at the station-master as I spoke.”
a railcar where passengers ride
From this reading “"No carriage!”
undertake a journey or trip
From this reading “I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.”
affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings
From this reading “I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.”
the possibility of future success
From this reading “I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.”
cause to go somewhere
From this reading “Mrs. Wyndham told me that she would send to meet this train."”
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading “I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.”
create by training and teaching
From this reading “Mrs. Wyndham told me that she would send to meet this train."”
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.
In this reading “Are you quite sure?”
In this reading “I looked anxiously at the station-master as I spoke.”
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 I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading I looked anxiously at the station-master as I spoke.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Are you quite sure?
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I looked anxiously at the station-master as I spoke.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I looked anxiously at the station-master as I spoke.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.
a railcar where passengers ride
From this reading "No carriage!
the experiencing of affective and emotional states
From this reading I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.
the -ing form of “have”
From this reading I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I looked anxiously at the station-master as I spoke.
undertake a journey or trip
From this reading I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.
past form of “look” — perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading I looked anxiously at the station-master as I spoke.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Mrs. Wyndham told me that she would send to meet this train."
come together
From this reading Mrs. Wyndham told me that she would send to meet this train."
a form of address for a married woman
From this reading Mrs. Wyndham told me that she would send to meet this train."
not any; not one
From this reading "No carriage!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.
affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings
From this reading I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.
the possibility of future success
From this reading I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading Are you quite sure?
cause to go somewhere
From this reading Mrs. Wyndham told me that she would send to meet this train."
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Mrs. Wyndham told me that she would send to meet this train."
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading I looked anxiously at the station-master as I spoke.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I looked anxiously at the station-master as I spoke.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading Are you quite sure?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Mrs. Wyndham told me that she would send to meet this train."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I looked anxiously at the station-master as I spoke.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Mrs. Wyndham told me that she would send to meet this train."
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Mrs. Wyndham told me that she would send to meet this train."
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading Mrs. Wyndham told me that she would send to meet this train."
create by training and teaching
From this reading Mrs. Wyndham told me that she would send to meet this train."
precisely as stated
From this reading I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I was feeling tired, having had a very long journey; and now, to find that I had the prospect of a good walk before me was not pleasant.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Mrs. Wyndham told me that she would send to meet this train."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mrs. Wyndham told me that she would send to meet this train."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Are you quite sure?
Chapter 1 of That Little Beggar by Edith King Hall holds 168 sentences, grouped into 34 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 168 sentences of That Little Beggar, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of That Little Beggar by Edith King Hall exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 168 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 That Little Beggar by Edith King Hall on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1773 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36166 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36166, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 147 minutes of reading across 355 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through That Little Beggar section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of That Little Beggar 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 That Little Beggar, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
