Chapter 2 of That Little Beggar is here in full — 231 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of That Little Beggar is here in full — 231 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A SONG AND A STORY. Yes, Granny was quite right. It was difficult not to spoil that little beggar. Everyone helped to do so; everyone, that is to say, but one person. That one person was Briggs, Chris's dignified and severe nurse.
Chapter 2 of That Little Beggar is here in full — 231 sentences across 47 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/46 · 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 pauper who lives by begging
From this reading “It was difficult not to spoil that little beggar.”
having or expressing dignity; especially formality or stateliness in bearing or appearance
From this reading “That one person was Briggs, Chris's dignified and severe nurse.”
every person
From this reading “Everyone helped to do so; everyone, that is to say, but one person.”
the mother of your father or mother
From this reading “Yes, Granny was quite right.”
past form of “help” — give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading “Everyone helped to do so; everyone, that is to say, but one person.”
try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury
From this reading “That one person was Briggs, Chris's dignified and severe nurse.”
intensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality
From this reading “That one person was Briggs, Chris's dignified and severe nurse.”
make a mess of, destroy or ruin
From this reading “It was difficult not to spoil that little beggar.”
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 “It was difficult not to spoil that little beggar.”
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 SONG AND A STORY.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A SONG AND A STORY.
a pauper who lives by begging
From this reading It was difficult not to spoil that little beggar.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That one person was Briggs, Chris's dignified and severe nurse.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Everyone helped to do so; everyone, that is to say, but one person.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That one person was Briggs, Chris's dignified and severe nurse.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading It was difficult not to spoil that little beggar.
having or expressing dignity; especially formality or stateliness in bearing or appearance
From this reading That one person was Briggs, Chris's dignified and severe nurse.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Everyone helped to do so; everyone, that is to say, but one person.
every person
From this reading Everyone helped to do so; everyone, that is to say, but one person.
the mother of your father or mother
From this reading Yes, Granny was quite right.
past form of “help” — give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading Everyone helped to do so; everyone, that is to say, but one person.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Everyone helped to do so; everyone, that is to say, but one person.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was difficult not to spoil that little beggar.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading It was difficult not to spoil that little beggar.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It was difficult not to spoil that little beggar.
try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury
From this reading That one person was Briggs, Chris's dignified and severe nurse.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Everyone helped to do so; everyone, that is to say, but one person.
a human being
From this reading Everyone helped to do so; everyone, that is to say, but one person.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading Yes, Granny was quite right.
precisely, exactly
From this reading Yes, Granny was quite right.
express in words
From this reading Everyone helped to do so; everyone, that is to say, but one person.
intensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality
From this reading That one person was Briggs, Chris's dignified and severe nurse.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Everyone helped to do so; everyone, that is to say, but one person.
a short musical composition with words
From this reading A SONG AND A STORY.
make a mess of, destroy or ruin
From this reading It was difficult not to spoil that little beggar.
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 SONG AND A STORY.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading It was difficult not to spoil that little beggar.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was difficult not to spoil that little beggar.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Yes, Granny was quite right.
an affirmative
From this reading Yes, Granny was quite right.
Chapter 2 of That Little Beggar by Edith King Hall holds 231 sentences, grouped into 47 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 2 holds 231 sentences of That Little Beggar, unabridged, divided into 47 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of That Little Beggar by Edith King Hall exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 231 sentences, grouped into 47 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 47 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 47 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 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.
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.
