Chapter 1 of The Cuckoo Clock is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Cuckoo Clock is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Author of "Herr Baby," "Carrots," "Grandmother Dear," etc. London: MacMillan and Co., and New York. THOMAS GRINDAL, BOTH FRIENDLY LITTLE CRITICS OF MY CHILDREN'S STORIES. Edinburgh, 1877. "Somewhat back from the village street Stands the old-fashioned country seat."
Chapter 1 of The Cuckoo Clock is here in full — 173 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading “Author of "Herr Baby," "Carrots," "Grandmother Dear," etc.”
plural of “carrot” — deep orange edible root of the cultivated carrot plant
From this reading “Author of "Herr Baby," "Carrots," "Grandmother Dear," etc.”
plural of “critic” — a person who is professionally engaged in the analysis and interpretation of works of art
From this reading “THOMAS GRINDAL, BOTH FRIENDLY LITTLE CRITICS OF MY CHILDREN'S STORIES.”
the capital of Scotland; located in the Lothian Region on the south side of the Firth of Forth
From this reading “Edinburgh, 1877.”
the mother of your father or mother
From this reading “Author of "Herr Baby," "Carrots," "Grandmother Dear," etc.”
a German man; used before the name as a title equivalent to Mr in English
From this reading “Author of "Herr Baby," "Carrots," "Grandmother Dear," etc.”
out of fashion
From this reading “"Somewhat back from the village street Stands the old-fashioned country seat."”
United States clockmaker who introduced mass production (1785-1859)
From this reading “THOMAS GRINDAL, BOTH FRIENDLY LITTLE CRITICS OF MY CHILDREN'S STORIES.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Edinburgh, 1877.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading London: MacMillan and Co., and New York.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading Author of "Herr Baby," "Carrots," "Grandmother Dear," etc.
a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading Author of "Herr Baby," "Carrots," "Grandmother Dear," etc.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading "Somewhat back from the village street Stands the old-fashioned country seat."
the two together, not just one
From this reading THOMAS GRINDAL, BOTH FRIENDLY LITTLE CRITICS OF MY CHILDREN'S STORIES.
plural of “carrot” — deep orange edible root of the cultivated carrot plant
From this reading Author of "Herr Baby," "Carrots," "Grandmother Dear," etc.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THOMAS GRINDAL, BOTH FRIENDLY LITTLE CRITICS OF MY CHILDREN'S STORIES.
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading London: MacMillan and Co., and New York.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading "Somewhat back from the village street Stands the old-fashioned country seat."
plural of “critic” — a person who is professionally engaged in the analysis and interpretation of works of art
From this reading THOMAS GRINDAL, BOTH FRIENDLY LITTLE CRITICS OF MY CHILDREN'S STORIES.
dearly loved
From this reading Author of "Herr Baby," "Carrots," "Grandmother Dear," etc.
the capital of Scotland; located in the Lothian Region on the south side of the Firth of Forth
From this reading Edinburgh, 1877.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Author of "Herr Baby," "Carrots," "Grandmother Dear," etc.
characteristic of or befitting a friend
From this reading THOMAS GRINDAL, BOTH FRIENDLY LITTLE CRITICS OF MY CHILDREN'S STORIES.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading "Somewhat back from the village street Stands the old-fashioned country seat."
the mother of your father or mother
From this reading Author of "Herr Baby," "Carrots," "Grandmother Dear," etc.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THOMAS GRINDAL, BOTH FRIENDLY LITTLE CRITICS OF MY CHILDREN'S STORIES.
a German man; used before the name as a title equivalent to Mr in English
From this reading Author of "Herr Baby," "Carrots," "Grandmother Dear," etc.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading THOMAS GRINDAL, BOTH FRIENDLY LITTLE CRITICS OF MY CHILDREN'S STORIES.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading London: MacMillan and Co., and New York.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading London: MacMillan and Co., and New York.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading THOMAS GRINDAL, BOTH FRIENDLY LITTLE CRITICS OF MY CHILDREN'S STORIES.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading London: MacMillan and Co., and New York.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Author of "Herr Baby," "Carrots," "Grandmother Dear," etc.
out of fashion
From this reading "Somewhat back from the village street Stands the old-fashioned country seat."
a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane)
From this reading "Somewhat back from the village street Stands the old-fashioned country seat."
to a small degree or extent
From this reading "Somewhat back from the village street Stands the old-fashioned country seat."
plural of “stand” — a support or foundation
From this reading "Somewhat back from the village street Stands the old-fashioned country seat."
plural of “story” — a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading THOMAS GRINDAL, BOTH FRIENDLY LITTLE CRITICS OF MY CHILDREN'S STORIES.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading "Somewhat back from the village street Stands the old-fashioned country seat."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Somewhat back from the village street Stands the old-fashioned country seat."
United States clockmaker who introduced mass production (1785-1859)
From this reading THOMAS GRINDAL, BOTH FRIENDLY LITTLE CRITICS OF MY CHILDREN'S STORIES.
a community of people smaller than a town
From this reading "Somewhat back from the village street Stands the old-fashioned country seat."
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading London: MacMillan and Co., and New York.
Chapter 1 of The Cuckoo Clock by Mrs. Molesworth holds 173 sentences, grouped into 35 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 1 holds 173 sentences of The Cuckoo Clock, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Cuckoo Clock by Mrs. Molesworth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 173 sentences, grouped into 35 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 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 35 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.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The Cuckoo Clock, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
