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.
"Ho! 'Fraidy cat!" said Kit. "I'll go first and show you how." "And I'll walk behind you," said Vrouw Vedder. Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.
Chapter 1 of The Dutch Twins is here in full — 511 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 80/102 · 5 reading units · Lines 396–400
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.
a structure that allows people or vehicles to cross an obstacle such as a river or canal or railway etc.
From this reading “Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.”
feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
From this reading “'Fraidy cat!" said Kit.”
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 “Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.”
a case for containing a set of articles
From this reading “'Fraidy cat!" said Kit.”
a roughly cylindrical vessel that is open at the top
From this reading “Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.”
with safety; in a safe manner
From this reading “Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.”
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading “Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.”
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading “"And I'll walk behind you," said Vrouw Vedder.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "I'll go first and show you how."
at or toward the back of something
From this reading "And I'll walk behind you," said Vrouw Vedder.
a structure that allows people or vehicles to cross an obstacle such as a river or canal or railway etc.
From this reading Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.
feline mammal usually having thick soft fur and no ability to roar: domestic cats; wildcats
From this reading 'Fraidy cat!" said Kit.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading "I'll go first and show you how."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Fraidy cat!" said Kit.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading "I'll go first and show you how."
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.
a trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group; occurs together with yttrium; forms highly magnetic compounds
From this reading "Ho!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'll go first and show you how."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'll go first and show you how."
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 Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.
a case for containing a set of articles
From this reading 'Fraidy cat!" said Kit.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.
above and across; more than
From this reading Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.
a roughly cylindrical vessel that is open at the top
From this reading Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.
with safety; in a safe manner
From this reading Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading 'Fraidy cat!" said Kit.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading "I'll go first and show you how."
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And I'll walk behind you," said Vrouw Vedder.
precisely as stated
From this reading Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And I'll walk behind you," said Vrouw Vedder.
the act of traveling by foot
From this reading "And I'll walk behind you," said Vrouw Vedder.
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading Kat walked very slowly and held on hard to her pail, and so she got over the bridge safely.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "I'll go first and show you how."
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.
