Chapter 2 of The Boys and I: A Child's Story for Children is here in full — 211 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Boys and I: A Child's Story for Children is here in full — 211 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
OUR FIRST SORROW. "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep." Sometimes they called us all three just "the boys." But I don't think that was fair. I may have been rather a _tom_boy, but I wasn't quite so bad as to be called a "boy."
Chapter 2 of The Boys and I: A Child's Story for Children is here in full — 211 sentences across 43 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/42 · 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 “cause” — events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something
From this reading “"O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."”
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading “But I don't think that was fair.”
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading “"O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."”
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading “"O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."”
an emotion of great sadness associated with loss or bereavement
From this reading “OUR FIRST SORROW.”
male cat
a source of difficulty
From this reading “"O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."”
shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain
From this reading “"O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."”
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 “"O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."”
In this reading “Sometimes they called us all three just "the boys."”
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 may have been rather a _tom_boy, but I wasn't quite so bad as to be called a "boy."
(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 "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I may have been rather a _tom_boy, but I wasn't quite so bad as to be called a "boy."
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I may have been rather a _tom_boy, but I wasn't quite so bad as to be called a "boy."
the past participle of “be”
From this reading I may have been rather a _tom_boy, but I wasn't quite so bad as to be called a "boy."
a youthful male person
From this reading I may have been rather a _tom_boy, but I wasn't quite so bad as to be called a "boy."
plural of “boy” — a youthful male person
From this reading Sometimes they called us all three just "the boys."
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But I don't think that was fair.
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Sometimes they called us all three just "the boys."
plural of “cause” — events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something
From this reading "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But I don't think that was fair.
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading But I don't think that was fair.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading OUR FIRST SORROW.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I may have been rather a _tom_boy, but I wasn't quite so bad as to be called a "boy."
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading But I don't think that was fair.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
and nothing more
From this reading Sometimes they called us all three just "the boys."
immediately past
From this reading "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
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 "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading I may have been rather a _tom_boy, but I wasn't quite so bad as to be called a "boy."
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading OUR FIRST SORROW.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading I may have been rather a _tom_boy, but I wasn't quite so bad as to be called a "boy."
on the contrary
From this reading I may have been rather a _tom_boy, but I wasn't quite so bad as to be called a "boy."
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
on certain occasions or in certain cases but not always
From this reading Sometimes they called us all three just "the boys."
an emotion of great sadness associated with loss or bereavement
From this reading OUR FIRST SORROW.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading But I don't think that was fair.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Sometimes they called us all three just "the boys."
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Sometimes they called us all three just "the boys."
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading But I don't think that was fair.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading Sometimes they called us all three just "the boys."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
male cat
From this reading I may have been rather a _tom_boy, but I wasn't quite so bad as to be called a "boy."
a source of difficulty
From this reading "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
precisely as stated
From this reading "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But I don't think that was fair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I may have been rather a _tom_boy, but I wasn't quite so bad as to be called a "boy."
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain
From this reading "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading "O, it is trouble very bad, Which causes us to weep; All last night long we were so sad, Not one of us could sleep."
Chapter 2 of The Boys and I: A Child's Story for Children by Mrs. Molesworth holds 211 sentences, grouped into 43 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 211 sentences of The Boys and I: A Child's Story for Children, unabridged, divided into 43 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Boys and I: A Child's Story for Children by Mrs. Molesworth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 211 sentences, grouped into 43 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 43 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 43 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 The Boys and I: A Child's Story for Children by Mrs. Molesworth on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2907 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30845 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30845, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 242 minutes of reading across 582 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Boys and I: A Child's Story for Children section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Boys and I: A Child's Story for Children 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 Boys and I: A Child's Story for Children, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
