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.
It was all covered with pretty blue tiles, with pictures of boats on them. Over this table, there was a shelf, like a mantel shelf. There were plates on it, and from the bottom of the shelf hung some chains with hooks on them. The coals were right out on the little table. Kat took the bellows and--puff, puff, puff!--made the coals burn brighter.
Chapter 1 of The Dutch Twins is here in full — 511 sentences across 103 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 98/102 · 5 reading units · Lines 486–490
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.
(used in the plural) a mechanical device that blows a strong current of air; used to make a fire burn more fiercely or to sound a musical instrument
From this reading “Kat took the bellows and--puff, puff, puff!--made the coals burn brighter.”
comparative of “bright” — emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading “Kat took the bellows and--puff, puff, puff!--made the coals burn brighter.”
plural of “coal” — fossil fuel consisting of carbonized vegetable matter deposited in the Carboniferous period
From this reading “The coals were right out on the little table.”
large strong hand (as of a fighter)
From this reading “There were plates on it, and from the bottom of the shelf hung some chains with hooks on them.”
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 took the bellows and--puff, puff, puff!--made the coals burn brighter.”
shelf that projects from wall above fireplace
From this reading “Over this table, there was a shelf, like a mantel shelf.”
smoke and exhale strongly
From this reading “Kat took the bellows and--puff, puff, puff!--made the coals burn brighter.”
plural of “tile” — a flat thin rectangular slab (as of fired clay or rubber or linoleum) used to cover surfaces
From this reading “It was all covered with pretty blue tiles, with pictures of boats on them.”
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 Over this table, there was a shelf, like a mantel shelf.
(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 was all covered with pretty blue tiles, with pictures of boats on them.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading There were plates on it, and from the bottom of the shelf hung some chains with hooks on them.
(used in the plural) a mechanical device that blows a strong current of air; used to make a fire burn more fiercely or to sound a musical instrument
From this reading Kat took the bellows and--puff, puff, puff!--made the coals burn brighter.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading It was all covered with pretty blue tiles, with pictures of boats on them.
plural of “boat” — a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading It was all covered with pretty blue tiles, with pictures of boats on them.
the lower side of anything
From this reading There were plates on it, and from the bottom of the shelf hung some chains with hooks on them.
comparative of “bright” — emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading Kat took the bellows and--puff, puff, puff!--made the coals burn brighter.
To consume or be consumed by fire.
From this reading Kat took the bellows and--puff, puff, puff!--made the coals burn brighter.
metal shackles; for hands or legs
From this reading There were plates on it, and from the bottom of the shelf hung some chains with hooks on them.
plural of “coal” — fossil fuel consisting of carbonized vegetable matter deposited in the Carboniferous period
From this reading The coals were right out on the little table.
overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form
From this reading It was all covered with pretty blue tiles, with pictures of boats on them.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading There were plates on it, and from the bottom of the shelf hung some chains with hooks on them.
large strong hand (as of a fighter)
From this reading There were plates on it, and from the bottom of the shelf hung some chains with hooks on them.
inflected form of “hang” — be suspended or hanging
From this reading There were plates on it, and from the bottom of the shelf hung some chains with hooks on them.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was all covered with pretty blue tiles, with pictures of boats on them.
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 took the bellows and--puff, puff, puff!--made the coals burn brighter.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Over this table, there was a shelf, like a mantel shelf.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The coals were right out on the little table.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading Kat took the bellows and--puff, puff, puff!--made the coals burn brighter.
shelf that projects from wall above fireplace
From this reading Over this table, there was a shelf, like a mantel shelf.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was all covered with pretty blue tiles, with pictures of boats on them.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading It was all covered with pretty blue tiles, with pictures of boats on them.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The coals were right out on the little table.
above and across; more than
From this reading Over this table, there was a shelf, like a mantel shelf.
plural of “picture” — a visual representation (of an object or scene or person or abstraction) produced on a surface
From this reading It was all covered with pretty blue tiles, with pictures of boats on them.
plural of “plate” — (baseball) base consisting of a rubber slab where the batter stands; it must be touched by a base runner in order to score
From this reading There were plates on it, and from the bottom of the shelf hung some chains with hooks on them.
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading It was all covered with pretty blue tiles, with pictures of boats on them.
smoke and exhale strongly
From this reading Kat took the bellows and--puff, puff, puff!--made the coals burn brighter.
precisely, exactly
From this reading The coals were right out on the little table.
A flat horizontal plane used to hold books or scrolls in a library.
From this reading Over this table, there was a shelf, like a mantel shelf.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading There were plates on it, and from the bottom of the shelf hung some chains with hooks on them.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading Over this table, there was a shelf, like a mantel shelf.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading There were plates on it, and from the bottom of the shelf hung some chains with hooks on them.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading It was all covered with pretty blue tiles, with pictures of boats on them.
in or at that place or location
From this reading Over this table, there was a shelf, like a mantel shelf.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Over this table, there was a shelf, like a mantel shelf.
plural of “tile” — a flat thin rectangular slab (as of fired clay or rubber or linoleum) used to cover surfaces
From this reading It was all covered with pretty blue tiles, with pictures of boats on them.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading Kat took the bellows and--puff, puff, puff!--made the coals burn brighter.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was all covered with pretty blue tiles, with pictures of boats on them.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There were plates on it, and from the bottom of the shelf hung some chains with hooks on them.
in the company of; together with
From this reading It was all covered with pretty blue tiles, with pictures of boats on them.
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.
