Chapter 3 of The Dogs and the Fleas By One of the Dogs is here in full — 65 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Dogs and the Fleas By One of the Dogs is here in full — 65 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
MEPHISTOPHELES. (_Sings._) There was a king once reigning, Who had a big black flea— FROSCH. Hear, hear! A flea! D’ye rightly take the jest?
Chapter 3 of The Dogs and the Fleas By One of the Dogs is here in full — 65 sentences across 13 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/13 · 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.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “(_Sings._) There was a king once reigning, Who had a big black flea— FROSCH.”
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading “(_Sings._) There was a king once reigning, Who had a big black flea— FROSCH.”
any wingless bloodsucking parasitic insect noted for ability to leap
From this reading “(_Sings._) There was a king once reigning, Who had a big black flea— FROSCH.”
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading “D’ye rightly take the jest?”
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading “(_Sings._) There was a king once reigning, Who had a big black flea— FROSCH.”
exercising power or authority
From this reading “(_Sings._) There was a king once reigning, Who had a big black flea— FROSCH.”
with honesty
From this reading “D’ye rightly take the jest?”
third-person singular of “sing” — deliver by singing
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.
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 (_Sings._) There was a king once reigning, Who had a big black flea— FROSCH.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading (_Sings._) There was a king once reigning, Who had a big black flea— FROSCH.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading (_Sings._) There was a king once reigning, Who had a big black flea— FROSCH.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading D’ye rightly take the jest?
any wingless bloodsucking parasitic insect noted for ability to leap
From this reading (_Sings._) There was a king once reigning, Who had a big black flea— FROSCH.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading (_Sings._) There was a king once reigning, Who had a big black flea— FROSCH.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading (_Sings._) There was a king once reigning, Who had a big black flea— FROSCH.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading Hear, hear!
a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
From this reading D’ye rightly take the jest?
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading (_Sings._) There was a king once reigning, Who had a big black flea— FROSCH.
evil spirit to whom Faust sold his soul
From this reading MEPHISTOPHELES.
on one occasion
From this reading (_Sings._) There was a king once reigning, Who had a big black flea— FROSCH.
exercising power or authority
From this reading (_Sings._) There was a king once reigning, Who had a big black flea— FROSCH.
with honesty
From this reading D’ye rightly take the jest?
third-person singular of “sing” — deliver by singing
From this reading (_Sings._) There was a king once reigning, Who had a big black flea— FROSCH.
carry out
From this reading D’ye rightly take the jest?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading D’ye rightly take the jest?
in or at that place or location
From this reading (_Sings._) There was a king once reigning, Who had a big black flea— FROSCH.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading (_Sings._) There was a king once reigning, Who had a big black flea— FROSCH.
which person or people
From this reading (_Sings._) There was a king once reigning, Who had a big black flea— FROSCH.
Chapter 3 of The Dogs and the Fleas By One of the Dogs by Frederic Scrimshaw holds 65 sentences, grouped into 13 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 3 holds 65 sentences of The Dogs and the Fleas By One of the Dogs, unabridged, divided into 13 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Dogs and the Fleas By One of the Dogs by Frederic Scrimshaw exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 65 sentences, grouped into 13 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 13 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 13 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 3 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 Dogs and the Fleas By One of the Dogs by Frederic Scrimshaw on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2213 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62292 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #62292, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 184 minutes of reading across 443 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Dogs and the Fleas By One of the Dogs section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Dogs and the Fleas By One of the Dogs 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 Dogs and the Fleas By One of the Dogs, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
