Chapter 1 of The Adventures of Pinocchio is here in full — 55 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Adventures of Pinocchio is here in full — 55 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child. “A king!” my little readers will say immediately. No, children, you are mistaken. Once upon a time there was a piece of wood. It was not an expensive piece of wood.
Chapter 1 of The Adventures of Pinocchio is here in full — 55 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/11 · 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 woodworker who makes or repairs wooden objects
From this reading “How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.”
wood of any of various cherry trees especially the black cherry
From this reading “How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.”
high in price or charging high prices
From this reading “It was not an expensive piece of wood.”
wrong in e.g. opinion or judgment
From this reading “No, children, you are mistaken.”
a separate part of a whole
From this reading “How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.”
plural of “reader” — a person who enjoys reading
From this reading ““A king!” my little readers will say immediately.”
inflected form of “weep” — shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain
From this reading “How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.”
the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
From this reading “How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.”
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 How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading It was not an expensive piece of wood.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading No, children, you are mistaken.
a woodworker who makes or repairs wooden objects
From this reading How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.
wood of any of various cherry trees especially the black cherry
From this reading How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.
a young person of either sex
From this reading How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading No, children, you are mistaken.
high in price or charging high prices
From this reading It was not an expensive piece of wood.
set up or found
From this reading How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
From this reading “A king!” my little readers will say immediately.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading “A king!” my little readers will say immediately.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “A king!” my little readers will say immediately.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.
wrong in e.g. opinion or judgment
From this reading No, children, you are mistaken.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “A king!” my little readers will say immediately.
not any; not one
From this reading No, children, you are mistaken.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading It was not an expensive piece of wood.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.
on one occasion
From this reading Once upon a time there was a piece of wood.
a separate part of a whole
From this reading How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.
plural of “reader” — a person who enjoys reading
From this reading “A king!” my little readers will say immediately.
express in words
From this reading “A king!” my little readers will say immediately.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Once upon a time there was a piece of wood.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Once upon a time there was a piece of wood.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Once upon a time there was a piece of wood.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Once upon a time there was a piece of wood.
inflected form of “weep” — shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain
From this reading How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading “A king!” my little readers will say immediately.
the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
From this reading How it happened that Mastro Cherry, carpenter, found a piece of wood that wept and laughed like a child.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading No, children, you are mistaken.
Chapter 1 of The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi holds 55 sentences, grouped into 11 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 55 sentences of The Adventures of Pinocchio, unabridged, divided into 11 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 55 sentences, grouped into 11 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 11 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 11 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 Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3087 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #500 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #500, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 257 minutes of reading across 618 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Adventures of Pinocchio section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of The Adventures of Pinocchio 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 Pinocchio, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
