Chapter 1 of The Adventures of Old Man Coyote is here in full — 480 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Adventures of Old Man Coyote is here in full — 480 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Author of “Old Mother West Wind Series,” “Mother West Wind How Stories,” “The Bedtime Story-Books,” etc. Boston: Little, Brown, And Company 1916 |LISTEN!” It was Jimmy Skunk speaking. He had just met Peter Rabbit halfway down the Crooked Little Path just where the moonlight was brightest. But he did not need to tell Peter to listen.
Chapter 1 of The Adventures of Old Man Coyote is here in full — 480 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/96 · 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.
the time you go to bed
From this reading “Author of “Old Mother West Wind Series,” “Mother West Wind How Stories,” “The Bedtime Story-Books,” etc.”
superlative of “bright” — emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading “He had just met Peter Rabbit halfway down the Crooked Little Path just where the moonlight was brightest.”
having or marked by bends or angles; not straight or aligned
From this reading “He had just met Peter Rabbit halfway down the Crooked Little Path just where the moonlight was brightest.”
equally distant from the extremes
From this reading “He had just met Peter Rabbit halfway down the Crooked Little Path just where the moonlight was brightest.”
to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
From this reading “It was Jimmy Skunk speaking.”
the light of the Moon
From this reading “He had just met Peter Rabbit halfway down the Crooked Little Path just where the moonlight was brightest.”
any of various burrowing animals of the family Leporidae having long ears and short tails; some domesticated and raised for pets or food
From this reading “He had just met Peter Rabbit halfway down the Crooked Little Path just where the moonlight was brightest.”
a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible
From this reading “It was Jimmy Skunk speaking.”
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.
wind that blows from west to east
In this reading “Author of “Old Mother West Wind Series,” “Mother West Wind How Stories,” “The Bedtime Story-Books,” etc.”
In this reading “Author of “Old Mother West Wind Series,” “Mother West Wind How Stories,” “The Bedtime Story-Books,” etc.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Boston: Little, Brown, And Company 1916 |LISTEN!”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Boston: Little, Brown, And Company 1916 |LISTEN!”
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading Author of “Old Mother West Wind Series,” “Mother West Wind How Stories,” “The Bedtime Story-Books,” etc.
the time you go to bed
From this reading Author of “Old Mother West Wind Series,” “Mother West Wind How Stories,” “The Bedtime Story-Books,” etc.
state capital and largest city of Massachusetts; a major center for banking and financial services
From this reading Boston: Little, Brown, And Company 1916 |LISTEN!”
superlative of “bright” — emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading He had just met Peter Rabbit halfway down the Crooked Little Path just where the moonlight was brightest.
an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading Boston: Little, Brown, And Company 1916 |LISTEN!”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But he did not need to tell Peter to listen.
an institution created to conduct business
From this reading Boston: Little, Brown, And Company 1916 |LISTEN!”
having or marked by bends or angles; not straight or aligned
From this reading He had just met Peter Rabbit halfway down the Crooked Little Path just where the moonlight was brightest.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading But he did not need to tell Peter to listen.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading He had just met Peter Rabbit halfway down the Crooked Little Path just where the moonlight was brightest.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Author of “Old Mother West Wind Series,” “Mother West Wind How Stories,” “The Bedtime Story-Books,” etc.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had just met Peter Rabbit halfway down the Crooked Little Path just where the moonlight was brightest.
equally distant from the extremes
From this reading He had just met Peter Rabbit halfway down the Crooked Little Path just where the moonlight was brightest.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He had just met Peter Rabbit halfway down the Crooked Little Path just where the moonlight was brightest.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Author of “Old Mother West Wind Series,” “Mother West Wind How Stories,” “The Bedtime Story-Books,” etc.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was Jimmy Skunk speaking.
to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open
From this reading It was Jimmy Skunk speaking.
and nothing more
From this reading He had just met Peter Rabbit halfway down the Crooked Little Path just where the moonlight was brightest.
hear with intention
From this reading Boston: Little, Brown, And Company 1916 |LISTEN!”
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Boston: Little, Brown, And Company 1916 |LISTEN!”
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading He had just met Peter Rabbit halfway down the Crooked Little Path just where the moonlight was brightest.
the light of the Moon
From this reading He had just met Peter Rabbit halfway down the Crooked Little Path just where the moonlight was brightest.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Author of “Old Mother West Wind Series,” “Mother West Wind How Stories,” “The Bedtime Story-Books,” etc.
a condition requiring relief
From this reading But he did not need to tell Peter to listen.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But he did not need to tell Peter to listen.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Author of “Old Mother West Wind Series,” “Mother West Wind How Stories,” “The Bedtime Story-Books,” etc.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Author of “Old Mother West Wind Series,” “Mother West Wind How Stories,” “The Bedtime Story-Books,” etc.
a course of conduct
From this reading He had just met Peter Rabbit halfway down the Crooked Little Path just where the moonlight was brightest.
disciple of Jesus and leader of the Apostles; regarded by Catholics as the vicar of Christ on earth and first Pope
From this reading He had just met Peter Rabbit halfway down the Crooked Little Path just where the moonlight was brightest.
any of various burrowing animals of the family Leporidae having long ears and short tails; some domesticated and raised for pets or food
From this reading He had just met Peter Rabbit halfway down the Crooked Little Path just where the moonlight was brightest.
similar things placed in order or happening one after another
From this reading Author of “Old Mother West Wind Series,” “Mother West Wind How Stories,” “The Bedtime Story-Books,” etc.
a person who is deemed to be despicable or contemptible
From this reading It was Jimmy Skunk speaking.
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading It was Jimmy Skunk speaking.
plural of “story” — 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 Author of “Old Mother West Wind Series,” “Mother West Wind How Stories,” “The Bedtime Story-Books,” etc.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Author of “Old Mother West Wind Series,” “Mother West Wind How Stories,” “The Bedtime Story-Books,” etc.
express in words
From this reading But he did not need to tell Peter to listen.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Author of “Old Mother West Wind Series,” “Mother West Wind How Stories,” “The Bedtime Story-Books,” etc.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But he did not need to tell Peter to listen.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was Jimmy Skunk speaking.
the countries of (originally) Europe and (now including) North America and South America
From this reading Author of “Old Mother West Wind Series,” “Mother West Wind How Stories,” “The Bedtime Story-Books,” etc.
in or at the place that
From this reading He had just met Peter Rabbit halfway down the Crooked Little Path just where the moonlight was brightest.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading Author of “Old Mother West Wind Series,” “Mother West Wind How Stories,” “The Bedtime Story-Books,” etc.
Chapter 1 of The Adventures of Old Man Coyote by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess holds 480 sentences, grouped into 96 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 480 sentences of The Adventures of Old Man Coyote, unabridged, divided into 96 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Adventures of Old Man Coyote by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 480 sentences, grouped into 96 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 96 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 96 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 The Adventures of Old Man Coyote by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 953 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #46952 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #46952, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 79 minutes of reading across 191 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Adventures of Old Man Coyote section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Adventures of Old Man Coyote 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 The Adventures of Old Man Coyote, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
