Chapter 31 of The Burgess Animal Book for Children is here in full — 145 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of The Burgess Animal Book for Children is here in full — 145 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Has Buster Bear a tail?” asked Old Mother Nature, and her eyes twinkled. “No,” declared Whitefoot the Wood Mouse promptly. “Yes,” contradicted Chatterer the Red Squirrel. “What do you say, Prickly Porky?” Old Mother Nature asked.
Chapter 31 of The Burgess Animal Book for Children is here in full — 145 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
an informal form of address for a man
From this reading ““Has Buster Bear a tail?” asked Old Mother Nature, and her eyes twinkled.”
past form of “contradict” — be in contradiction with
From this reading ““Yes,” contradicted Chatterer the Red Squirrel.”
any of numerous small rodents typically resembling diminutive rats having pointed snouts and small ears on elongated bodies with slender usually hairless tails
From this reading ““No,” declared Whitefoot the Wood Mouse promptly.”
very irritable
From this reading ““What do you say, Prickly Porky?””
with little or no delay
From this reading ““No,” declared Whitefoot the Wood Mouse promptly.”
a kind of arboreal rodent having a long bushy tail
From this reading ““Yes,” contradicted Chatterer the Red Squirrel.”
the posterior part of the body of a vertebrate especially when elongated and extending beyond the trunk or main part of the body
From this reading ““Has Buster Bear a tail?” asked Old Mother Nature, and her eyes twinkled.”
past form of “twinkle” — gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading ““Has Buster Bear a tail?” asked Old Mother Nature, and her eyes twinkled.”
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 “Has Buster Bear a tail?” asked Old Mother Nature, and her eyes twinkled.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Has Buster Bear a tail?” asked Old Mother Nature, and her eyes twinkled.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “Has Buster Bear a tail?” asked Old Mother Nature, and her eyes twinkled.
have
From this reading “Has Buster Bear a tail?” asked Old Mother Nature, and her eyes twinkled.
an informal form of address for a man
From this reading “Has Buster Bear a tail?” asked Old Mother Nature, and her eyes twinkled.
an obnoxious and foolish and loquacious talker
From this reading “Yes,” contradicted Chatterer the Red Squirrel.
past form of “contradict” — be in contradiction with
From this reading “Yes,” contradicted Chatterer the Red Squirrel.
made known or openly avowed
From this reading “No,” declared Whitefoot the Wood Mouse promptly.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading “What do you say, Prickly Porky?”
opinion or judgment
From this reading “Has Buster Bear a tail?” asked Old Mother Nature, and her eyes twinkled.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Has Buster Bear a tail?” asked Old Mother Nature, and her eyes twinkled.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading “Has Buster Bear a tail?” asked Old Mother Nature, and her eyes twinkled.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading “Has Buster Bear a tail?” asked Old Mother Nature, and her eyes twinkled.
any of numerous small rodents typically resembling diminutive rats having pointed snouts and small ears on elongated bodies with slender usually hairless tails
From this reading “No,” declared Whitefoot the Wood Mouse promptly.
the essential qualities or characteristics by which something is recognized
From this reading “Has Buster Bear a tail?” asked Old Mother Nature, and her eyes twinkled.
not any; not one
From this reading “No,” declared Whitefoot the Wood Mouse promptly.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading “Has Buster Bear a tail?” asked Old Mother Nature, and her eyes twinkled.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What do you say, Prickly Porky?”
very irritable
From this reading “What do you say, Prickly Porky?”
with little or no delay
From this reading “No,” declared Whitefoot the Wood Mouse promptly.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading “Yes,” contradicted Chatterer the Red Squirrel.
express in words
From this reading “What do you say, Prickly Porky?”
a kind of arboreal rodent having a long bushy tail
From this reading “Yes,” contradicted Chatterer the Red Squirrel.
the posterior part of the body of a vertebrate especially when elongated and extending beyond the trunk or main part of the body
From this reading “Has Buster Bear a tail?” asked Old Mother Nature, and her eyes twinkled.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “No,” declared Whitefoot the Wood Mouse promptly.
past form of “twinkle” — gleam or glow intermittently
From this reading “Has Buster Bear a tail?” asked Old Mother Nature, and her eyes twinkled.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What do you say, Prickly Porky?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “No,” declared Whitefoot the Wood Mouse promptly.
the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
From this reading “No,” declared Whitefoot the Wood Mouse promptly.
an affirmative
From this reading “Yes,” contradicted Chatterer the Red Squirrel.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “What do you say, Prickly Porky?”
Chapter 31 of The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess holds 145 sentences, grouped into 29 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 31 holds 145 sentences of The Burgess Animal Book for Children, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 145 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 31 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, unabridged. 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.
