Chapter 12 of The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver is here in full — 61 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver is here in full — 61 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
If you think you know it all You are riding for a fall. Use your ears and use your eyes, But hold your tongue and you'll be wise. Jerry Muskrat will tell you that is as true as true can be. Jerry knows. He found it out for himself.
Chapter 12 of The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver is here in full — 61 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/12 · 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.
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading “Use your ears and use your eyes, But hold your tongue and you'll be wise.”
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading “If you think you know it all You are riding for a fall.”
offensive term for a person of German descent
From this reading “Jerry Muskrat will tell you that is as true as true can be.”
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading “Jerry knows.”
the brown fur of a muskrat
From this reading “Jerry Muskrat will tell you that is as true as true can be.”
the sport of sitting on the back of a horse while controlling its movements
From this reading “If you think you know it all You are riding for a fall.”
a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity
From this reading “Use your ears and use your eyes, But hold your tongue and you'll be wise.”
having or prompted by wisdom or discernment
From this reading “Use your ears and use your eyes, But hold your tongue and you'll be wise.”
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 If you think you know it all You are riding for a fall.
(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 If you think you know it all You are riding for a fall.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Use your ears and use your eyes, But hold your tongue and you'll be wise.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading If you think you know it all You are riding for a fall.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Jerry Muskrat will tell you that is as true as true can be.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Use your ears and use your eyes, But hold your tongue and you'll be wise.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Use your ears and use your eyes, But hold your tongue and you'll be wise.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Jerry Muskrat will tell you that is as true as true can be.
plural of “ear” — the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium
From this reading Use your ears and use your eyes, But hold your tongue and you'll be wise.
opinion or judgment
From this reading Use your ears and use your eyes, But hold your tongue and you'll be wise.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading If you think you know it all You are riding for a fall.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading If you think you know it all You are riding for a fall.
set up or found
From this reading He found it out for himself.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He found it out for himself.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He found it out for himself.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading Use your ears and use your eyes, But hold your tongue and you'll be wise.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If you think you know it all You are riding for a fall.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Jerry Muskrat will tell you that is as true as true can be.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading If you think you know it all You are riding for a fall.
offensive term for a person of German descent
From this reading Jerry Muskrat will tell you that is as true as true can be.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading If you think you know it all You are riding for a fall.
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading Jerry knows.
the brown fur of a muskrat
From this reading Jerry Muskrat will tell you that is as true as true can be.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He found it out for himself.
the sport of sitting on the back of a horse while controlling its movements
From this reading If you think you know it all You are riding for a fall.
express in words
From this reading Jerry Muskrat will tell you that is as true as true can be.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Jerry Muskrat will tell you that is as true as true can be.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading If you think you know it all You are riding for a fall.
a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity
From this reading Use your ears and use your eyes, But hold your tongue and you'll be wise.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading Jerry Muskrat will tell you that is as true as true can be.
the act of using
From this reading Use your ears and use your eyes, But hold your tongue and you'll be wise.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Jerry Muskrat will tell you that is as true as true can be.
having or prompted by wisdom or discernment
From this reading Use your ears and use your eyes, But hold your tongue and you'll be wise.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading If you think you know it all You are riding for a fall.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Use your ears and use your eyes, But hold your tongue and you'll be wise.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Use your ears and use your eyes, But hold your tongue and you'll be wise.
Chapter 12 of The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess holds 61 sentences, grouped into 13 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 12 holds 61 sentences of The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver, unabridged, divided into 13 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 61 sentences, grouped into 13 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 13 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 13 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 12 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 Paddy the Beaver by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 994 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2493 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2493, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 82 minutes of reading across 199 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver 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 Paddy the Beaver, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
