Chapter 1 of The Dutch Twins is here in full — 511 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Dutch Twins is here in full — 511 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
When Grandfather came, he brought a large fishing-rod for himself and two little ones for the Twins. There was a little hook on the end of each line. Vrouw Vedder kissed Kit and Kat good-bye. "Mind Grandfather, and don't fall into the water," she said. Grandfather and the Twins started off together down the long road beside the canal.
Chapter 1 of The Dutch Twins is here in full — 511 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 13/102 · 5 reading units · Lines 61–65
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.
(astronomy) an indistinct surface feature of Mars once thought to be a system of channels; they are now believed to be an optical illusion
From this reading “Grandfather and the Twins started off together down the long road beside the canal.”
a farewell remark
From this reading “Vrouw Vedder kissed Kit and Kat good-bye.”
the father of your father or mother
From this reading “When Grandfather came, he brought a large fishing-rod for himself and two little ones for the Twins.”
fasten with a hook
From this reading “There was a little hook on the end of each line.”
the leaves of the shrub Catha edulis which are chewed like tobacco or used to make tea; has the effect of a euphoric stimulant
From this reading “Vrouw Vedder kissed Kit and Kat good-bye.”
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading “Vrouw Vedder kissed Kit and Kat good-bye.”
a case for containing a set of articles
From this reading “Vrouw Vedder kissed Kit and Kat good-bye.”
(mineralogy) two interwoven crystals that are mirror images on each other
From this reading “When Grandfather came, he brought a large fishing-rod for himself and two little ones for the Twins.”
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 When Grandfather came, he brought a large fishing-rod for himself and two little ones for the Twins.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading When Grandfather came, he brought a large fishing-rod for himself and two little ones for the Twins.
next to; at the side of
From this reading Grandfather and the Twins started off together down the long road beside the canal.
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading When Grandfather came, he brought a large fishing-rod for himself and two little ones for the Twins.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading When Grandfather came, he brought a large fishing-rod for himself and two little ones for the Twins.
(astronomy) an indistinct surface feature of Mars once thought to be a system of channels; they are now believed to be an optical illusion
From this reading Grandfather and the Twins started off together down the long road beside the canal.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Mind Grandfather, and don't fall into the water," she said.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Grandfather and the Twins started off together down the long road beside the canal.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading There was a little hook on the end of each line.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading There was a little hook on the end of each line.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading "Mind Grandfather, and don't fall into the water," she said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When Grandfather came, he brought a large fishing-rod for himself and two little ones for the Twins.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading When Grandfather came, he brought a large fishing-rod for himself and two little ones for the Twins.
a farewell remark
From this reading Vrouw Vedder kissed Kit and Kat good-bye.
the father of your father or mother
From this reading When Grandfather came, he brought a large fishing-rod for himself and two little ones for the Twins.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading When Grandfather came, he brought a large fishing-rod for himself and two little ones for the Twins.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading When Grandfather came, he brought a large fishing-rod for himself and two little ones for the Twins.
fasten with a hook
From this reading There was a little hook on the end of each line.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading "Mind Grandfather, and don't fall into the water," she said.
the leaves of the shrub Catha edulis which are chewed like tobacco or used to make tea; has the effect of a euphoric stimulant
From this reading Vrouw Vedder kissed Kit and Kat good-bye.
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading Vrouw Vedder kissed Kit and Kat good-bye.
a case for containing a set of articles
From this reading Vrouw Vedder kissed Kit and Kat good-bye.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading When Grandfather came, he brought a large fishing-rod for himself and two little ones for the Twins.
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading There was a little hook on the end of each line.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading When Grandfather came, he brought a large fishing-rod for himself and two little ones for the Twins.
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 Grandfather and the Twins started off together down the long road beside the canal.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading "Mind Grandfather, and don't fall into the water," she said.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There was a little hook on the end of each line.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Grandfather and the Twins started off together down the long road beside the canal.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading There was a little hook on the end of each line.
plural of “one” — the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number
From this reading When Grandfather came, he brought a large fishing-rod for himself and two little ones for the Twins.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading Grandfather and the Twins started off together down the long road beside the canal.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Mind Grandfather, and don't fall into the water," she said.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Mind Grandfather, and don't fall into the water," she said.
past form of “start” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Grandfather and the Twins started off together down the long road beside the canal.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading When Grandfather came, he brought a large fishing-rod for himself and two little ones for the Twins.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a little hook on the end of each line.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading Grandfather and the Twins started off together down the long road beside the canal.
(mineralogy) two interwoven crystals that are mirror images on each other
From this reading When Grandfather came, he brought a large fishing-rod for himself and two little ones for the Twins.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading When Grandfather came, he brought a large fishing-rod for himself and two little ones for the Twins.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Vrouw Vedder kissed Kit and Kat good-bye.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Vrouw Vedder kissed Kit and Kat good-bye.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was a little hook on the end of each line.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading "Mind Grandfather, and don't fall into the water," she said.
at the time that
From this reading When Grandfather came, he brought a large fishing-rod for himself and two little ones for the Twins.
Chapter 1 of The Dutch Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins holds 511 sentences, grouped into 103 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 511 sentences of The Dutch Twins, unabridged, divided into 103 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Dutch Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 511 sentences, grouped into 103 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 103 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 103 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.
Common questions about reading The Dutch Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1516 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4012 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4012, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 126 minutes of reading across 304 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Dutch Twins section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of The Dutch Twins 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 Dutch Twins, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
