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.
I'm going first to the pasture to milk the cow. You can go with me and keep the flies away. That will be a great help." Vrouw Vedder put a yoke across her shoulders, with hooks hanging from each end of it. Then she hung a large pail on one of the hooks, and a brass milk can on the other.
Chapter 1 of The Dutch Twins is here in full — 511 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 78/102 · 5 reading units · Lines 386–390
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 alloy of copper and zinc
From this reading “Then she hung a large pail on one of the hooks, and a brass milk can on the other.”
female of domestic cattle: "“moo-cow” is a child's term"
From this reading “I'm going first to the pasture to milk the cow.”
(theater) the space over the stage (out of view of the audience) used to store scenery (drop curtains)
From this reading “You can go with me and keep the flies away.”
large strong hand (as of a fighter)
From this reading “Vrouw Vedder put a yoke across her shoulders, with hooks hanging from each end of it.”
a white nutritious liquid secreted by mammals and used as food by human beings
From this reading “I'm going first to the pasture to milk the cow.”
a roughly cylindrical vessel that is open at the top
From this reading “Then she hung a large pail on one of the hooks, and a brass milk can on the other.”
a field covered with grass or herbage and suitable for grazing by livestock
From this reading “I'm going first to the pasture to milk the cow.”
fabric comprising a fitted part at the top of a garment
From this reading “Vrouw Vedder put a yoke across her shoulders, with hooks hanging from each end of it.”
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 That will be a great help."
from one side of something to the other
From this reading Vrouw Vedder put a yoke across her shoulders, with hooks hanging from each end of it.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading You can go with me and keep the flies away.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading You can go with me and keep the flies away.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading That will be a great help."
an alloy of copper and zinc
From this reading Then she hung a large pail on one of the hooks, and a brass milk can on the other.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading You can go with me and keep the flies away.
female of domestic cattle: "“moo-cow” is a child's term"
From this reading I'm going first to the pasture to milk the cow.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading Vrouw Vedder put a yoke across her shoulders, with hooks hanging from each end of it.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading Vrouw Vedder put a yoke across her shoulders, with hooks hanging from each end of it.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading I'm going first to the pasture to milk the cow.
(theater) the space over the stage (out of view of the audience) used to store scenery (drop curtains)
From this reading You can go with me and keep the flies away.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Vrouw Vedder put a yoke across her shoulders, with hooks hanging from each end of it.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading You can go with me and keep the flies away.
the act of departing
From this reading I'm going first to the pasture to milk the cow.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading That will be a great help."
decoration that is hung (as a tapestry) on a wall or over a window
From this reading Vrouw Vedder put a yoke across her shoulders, with hooks hanging from each end of it.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading That will be a great help."
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Vrouw Vedder put a yoke across her shoulders, with hooks hanging from each end of it.
large strong hand (as of a fighter)
From this reading Vrouw Vedder put a yoke across her shoulders, with hooks hanging from each end of it.
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading Then she hung a large pail on one of the hooks, and a brass milk can on the other.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'm going first to the pasture to milk the cow.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Vrouw Vedder put a yoke across her shoulders, with hooks hanging from each end of it.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading You can go with me and keep the flies away.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Then she hung a large pail on one of the hooks, and a brass milk can on the other.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading You can go with me and keep the flies away.
a white nutritious liquid secreted by mammals and used as food by human beings
From this reading I'm going first to the pasture to milk the cow.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Vrouw Vedder put a yoke across her shoulders, with hooks hanging from each end of it.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Then she hung a large pail on one of the hooks, and a brass milk can on the other.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading Then she hung a large pail on one of the hooks, and a brass milk can on the other.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Then she hung a large pail on one of the hooks, and a brass milk can on the other.
a roughly cylindrical vessel that is open at the top
From this reading Then she hung a large pail on one of the hooks, and a brass milk can on the other.
a field covered with grass or herbage and suitable for grazing by livestock
From this reading I'm going first to the pasture to milk the cow.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Vrouw Vedder put a yoke across her shoulders, with hooks hanging from each end of it.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then she hung a large pail on one of the hooks, and a brass milk can on the other.
plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm
From this reading Vrouw Vedder put a yoke across her shoulders, with hooks hanging from each end of it.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That will be a great help."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I'm going first to the pasture to milk the cow.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then she hung a large pail on one of the hooks, and a brass milk can on the other.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I'm going first to the pasture to milk the cow.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Vrouw Vedder put a yoke across her shoulders, with hooks hanging from each end of it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Vrouw Vedder put a yoke across her shoulders, with hooks hanging from each end of it.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading That will be a great help."
in the company of; together with
From this reading You can go with me and keep the flies away.
fabric comprising a fitted part at the top of a garment
From this reading Vrouw Vedder put a yoke across her shoulders, with hooks hanging from each end of it.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You can go with me and keep the flies away.
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.
