Chapter 22 of The Burgess Animal Book for Children is here in full — 115 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXII
Chapter 22 of The Burgess Animal Book for Children is here in full — 115 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Well, Peter,” said Old Mother Nature, “did you visit Digger the Badger yesterday?” “Yes'm,” replied Peter, “I visited him, but I didn't find out much. He's a regular old grouch. He isn't the least bit neighborly. It took me a long time to find him.
Chapter 22 of The Burgess Animal Book for Children is here in full — 115 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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.
annoy persistently
From this reading ““Well, Peter,” said Old Mother Nature, “did you visit Digger the Badger yesterday?””
a laborer who digs
From this reading ““Well, Peter,” said Old Mother Nature, “did you visit Digger the Badger yesterday?””
a bad-tempered person
From this reading “He's a regular old grouch.”
exhibiting the qualities expected in a friendly neighbor
From this reading “He isn't the least bit neighborly.”
disciple of Jesus and leader of the Apostles; regarded by Catholics as the vicar of Christ on earth and first Pope
From this reading ““Well, Peter,” said Old Mother Nature, “did you visit Digger the Badger yesterday?””
in accordance with fixed order or procedure or principle
From this reading “He's a regular old grouch.”
past form of “visit” — go to see a place, as for entertainment
From this reading ““Yes'm,” replied Peter, “I visited him, but I didn't find out much.”
the day immediately before today
From this reading ““Well, Peter,” said Old Mother Nature, “did you visit Digger the Badger yesterday?””
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 He's a regular old grouch.
annoy persistently
From this reading “Well, Peter,” said Old Mother Nature, “did you visit Digger the Badger yesterday?”
a small piece or quantity of something
From this reading He isn't the least bit neighborly.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “Yes'm,” replied Peter, “I visited him, but I didn't find out much.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading “Well, Peter,” said Old Mother Nature, “did you visit Digger the Badger yesterday?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Yes'm,” replied Peter, “I visited him, but I didn't find out much.
a laborer who digs
From this reading “Well, Peter,” said Old Mother Nature, “did you visit Digger the Badger yesterday?”
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading “Yes'm,” replied Peter, “I visited him, but I didn't find out much.
a bad-tempered person
From this reading He's a regular old grouch.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He isn't the least bit neighborly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He's a regular old grouch.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Yes'm,” replied Peter, “I visited him, but I didn't find out much.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Yes'm,” replied Peter, “I visited him, but I didn't find out much.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He isn't the least bit neighborly.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It took me a long time to find him.
the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree
From this reading He isn't the least bit neighborly.
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 It took me a long time to find him.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading It took me a long time to find him.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading “Well, Peter,” said Old Mother Nature, “did you visit Digger the Badger yesterday?”
to a great degree or extent
From this reading “Yes'm,” replied Peter, “I visited him, but I didn't find out much.
the essential qualities or characteristics by which something is recognized
From this reading “Well, Peter,” said Old Mother Nature, “did you visit Digger the Badger yesterday?”
exhibiting the qualities expected in a friendly neighbor
From this reading He isn't the least bit neighborly.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading “Well, Peter,” said Old Mother Nature, “did you visit Digger the Badger yesterday?”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading “Yes'm,” replied Peter, “I visited him, but I didn't find out much.
disciple of Jesus and leader of the Apostles; regarded by Catholics as the vicar of Christ on earth and first Pope
From this reading “Well, Peter,” said Old Mother Nature, “did you visit Digger the Badger yesterday?”
in accordance with fixed order or procedure or principle
From this reading He's a regular old grouch.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading “Yes'm,” replied Peter, “I visited him, but I didn't find out much.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Well, Peter,” said Old Mother Nature, “did you visit Digger the Badger yesterday?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Well, Peter,” said Old Mother Nature, “did you visit Digger the Badger yesterday?”
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading It took me a long time to find him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It took me a long time to find him.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading It took me a long time to find him.
go to see a place, as for entertainment
From this reading “Well, Peter,” said Old Mother Nature, “did you visit Digger the Badger yesterday?”
past form of “visit” — go to see a place, as for entertainment
From this reading “Yes'm,” replied Peter, “I visited him, but I didn't find out much.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading “Well, Peter,” said Old Mother Nature, “did you visit Digger the Badger yesterday?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Yes'm,” replied Peter, “I visited him, but I didn't find out much.
the day immediately before today
From this reading “Well, Peter,” said Old Mother Nature, “did you visit Digger the Badger yesterday?”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “Well, Peter,” said Old Mother Nature, “did you visit Digger the Badger yesterday?”
Chapter 22 of The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess holds 115 sentences, grouped into 23 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 22 holds 115 sentences of The Burgess Animal Book for Children, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 22 of The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 115 sentences, grouped into 23 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 23 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 23 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 22 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 Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5021 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2441 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2441, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 418 minutes of reading across 1005 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Burgess Animal Book for Children section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of The Burgess Animal Book 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 Burgess Animal Book for Children, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
