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.
"We will have pork and potatoes and some cabbage. Kit, run to the garden and bring a cabbage; and Kat, you may get the fire ready to cook it, when Kit brings it in." Kat went to the stove--but it was such a funny stove! It wasn't a stove at all, really. There was a sort of table built up against the chimney.
Chapter 1 of The Dutch Twins is here in full — 511 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 97/102 · 5 reading units · Lines 481–485
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.
third-person singular of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading “Kit, run to the garden and bring a cabbage; and Kat, you may get the fire ready to cook it, when Kit brings it in."”
any of various types of cabbage
From this reading “"We will have pork and potatoes and some cabbage.”
a vertical flue that provides a path through which smoke from a fire is carried away through the wall or roof of a building
From this reading “There was a sort of table built up against the chimney.”
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 “Kit, run to the garden and bring a cabbage; and Kat, you may get the fire ready to cook it, when Kit brings it in."”
a case for containing a set of articles
From this reading “Kit, run to the garden and bring a cabbage; and Kat, you may get the fire ready to cook it, when Kit brings it in."”
meat from a domestic hog or pig
From this reading “"We will have pork and potatoes and some cabbage.”
plural of “potato” — an edible tuber native to South America; a staple food of Ireland
From this reading “"We will have pork and potatoes and some cabbage.”
a kitchen appliance used for cooking food
From this reading “Kat went to the stove--but it was such a funny stove!”
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 Kit, run to the garden and bring a cabbage; and Kat, you may get the fire ready to cook it, when Kit brings it in."
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading There was a sort of table built up against the chimney.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading It wasn't a stove at all, really.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "We will have pork and potatoes and some cabbage.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading It wasn't a stove at all, really.
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading Kit, run to the garden and bring a cabbage; and Kat, you may get the fire ready to cook it, when Kit brings it in."
third-person singular of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading Kit, run to the garden and bring a cabbage; and Kat, you may get the fire ready to cook it, when Kit brings it in."
(used of soaps or cleaning agents) having a substance (an abrasive or filler) added to increase effectiveness
From this reading There was a sort of table built up against the chimney.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Kat went to the stove--but it was such a funny stove!
any of various types of cabbage
From this reading "We will have pork and potatoes and some cabbage.
a vertical flue that provides a path through which smoke from a fire is carried away through the wall or roof of a building
From this reading There was a sort of table built up against the chimney.
prepare a hot meal
From this reading Kit, run to the garden and bring a cabbage; and Kat, you may get the fire ready to cook it, when Kit brings it in."
start firing a weapon
From this reading Kit, run to the garden and bring a cabbage; and Kat, you may get the fire ready to cook it, when Kit brings it in."
arousing or provoking laughter
From this reading Kat went to the stove--but it was such a funny stove!
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading Kit, run to the garden and bring a cabbage; and Kat, you may get the fire ready to cook it, when Kit brings it in."
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Kit, run to the garden and bring a cabbage; and Kat, you may get the fire ready to cook it, when Kit brings it in."
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "We will have pork and potatoes and some cabbage.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Kit, run to the garden and bring a cabbage; and Kat, you may get the fire ready to cook it, when Kit brings it in."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Kit, run to the garden and bring a cabbage; and Kat, you may get the fire ready to cook it, when Kit brings it in."
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 Kit, run to the garden and bring a cabbage; and Kat, you may get the fire ready to cook it, when Kit brings it in."
a case for containing a set of articles
From this reading Kit, run to the garden and bring a cabbage; and Kat, you may get the fire ready to cook it, when Kit brings it in."
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading Kit, run to the garden and bring a cabbage; and Kat, you may get the fire ready to cook it, when Kit brings it in."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading There was a sort of table built up against the chimney.
meat from a domestic hog or pig
From this reading "We will have pork and potatoes and some cabbage.
plural of “potato” — an edible tuber native to South America; a staple food of Ireland
From this reading "We will have pork and potatoes and some cabbage.
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading Kit, run to the garden and bring a cabbage; and Kat, you may get the fire ready to cook it, when Kit brings it in."
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading It wasn't a stove at all, really.
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading Kit, run to the garden and bring a cabbage; and Kat, you may get the fire ready to cook it, when Kit brings it in."
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "We will have pork and potatoes and some cabbage.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading There was a sort of table built up against the chimney.
a kitchen appliance used for cooking food
From this reading Kat went to the stove--but it was such a funny stove!
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading Kat went to the stove--but it was such a funny stove!
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading There was a sort of table built up against the chimney.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Kit, run to the garden and bring a cabbage; and Kat, you may get the fire ready to cook it, when Kit brings it in."
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a sort of table built up against the chimney.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Kit, run to the garden and bring a cabbage; and Kat, you may get the fire ready to cook it, when Kit brings it in."
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading There was a sort of table built up against the chimney.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Kat went to the stove--but it was such a funny stove!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It wasn't a stove at all, really.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "We will have pork and potatoes and some cabbage.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Kat went to the stove--but it was such a funny stove!
at the time that
From this reading Kit, run to the garden and bring a cabbage; and Kat, you may get the fire ready to cook it, when Kit brings it in."
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "We will have pork and potatoes and some cabbage.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Kit, run to the garden and bring a cabbage; and Kat, you may get the fire ready to cook it, when Kit brings it in."
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.
