Chapter 1 of The Firelight Fairy Book is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Firelight Fairy Book is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
All the next day he labored to find the path, but in vain. He grew very hungry and cold. Every once in a while he would hear the roaring of the waterfall, which seemed to have grown louder. Another day dawned, and another day again. The Prince was getting very weak.
Chapter 1 of The Firelight Fairy Book is here in full — 393 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 15/78 · 5 reading units · Lines 71–75
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.
past form of “dawn” — become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions
From this reading “Another day dawned, and another day again.”
(of animals) fully developed
From this reading “Every once in a while he would hear the roaring of the waterfall, which seemed to have grown louder.”
feeling hunger; feeling a need or desire to eat food
From this reading “He grew very hungry and cold.”
lacking natural ease
From this reading “All the next day he labored to find the path, but in vain.”
comparative of “loud” — characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity
From this reading “Every once in a while he would hear the roaring of the waterfall, which seemed to have grown louder.”
a deep prolonged loud noise
From this reading “Every once in a while he would hear the roaring of the waterfall, which seemed to have grown louder.”
a steep descent of the water of a river
From this reading “Every once in a while he would hear the roaring of the waterfall, which seemed to have grown louder.”
wanting in physical strength
From this reading “The Prince was getting very weak.”
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 Every once in a while he would hear the roaring of the waterfall, which seemed to have grown louder.
anew
From this reading Another day dawned, and another day again.
(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 All the next day he labored to find the path, but in vain.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He grew very hungry and cold.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading Another day dawned, and another day again.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading All the next day he labored to find the path, but in vain.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading He grew very hungry and cold.
past form of “dawn” — become clear or enter one's consciousness or emotions
From this reading Another day dawned, and another day again.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading All the next day he labored to find the path, but in vain.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Every once in a while he would hear the roaring of the waterfall, which seemed to have grown louder.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading All the next day he labored to find the path, but in vain.
the act of acquiring something
From this reading The Prince was getting very weak.
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading He grew very hungry and cold.
(of animals) fully developed
From this reading Every once in a while he would hear the roaring of the waterfall, which seemed to have grown louder.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Every once in a while he would hear the roaring of the waterfall, which seemed to have grown louder.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading All the next day he labored to find the path, but in vain.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading Every once in a while he would hear the roaring of the waterfall, which seemed to have grown louder.
feeling hunger; feeling a need or desire to eat food
From this reading He grew very hungry and cold.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading All the next day he labored to find the path, but in vain.
lacking natural ease
From this reading All the next day he labored to find the path, but in vain.
comparative of “loud” — characterized by or producing sound of great volume or intensity
From this reading Every once in a while he would hear the roaring of the waterfall, which seemed to have grown louder.
immediately following in time or order
From this reading All the next day he labored to find the path, but in vain.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Every once in a while he would hear the roaring of the waterfall, which seemed to have grown louder.
on one occasion
From this reading Every once in a while he would hear the roaring of the waterfall, which seemed to have grown louder.
a course of conduct
From this reading All the next day he labored to find the path, but in vain.
a male member of a royal family other than the sovereign (especially the son of a sovereign)
From this reading The Prince was getting very weak.
a deep prolonged loud noise
From this reading Every once in a while he would hear the roaring of the waterfall, which seemed to have grown louder.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading Every once in a while he would hear the roaring of the waterfall, which seemed to have grown louder.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading All the next day he labored to find the path, but in vain.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading All the next day he labored to find the path, but in vain.
characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
From this reading All the next day he labored to find the path, but in vain.
precisely as stated
From this reading He grew very hungry and cold.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The Prince was getting very weak.
a steep descent of the water of a river
From this reading Every once in a while he would hear the roaring of the waterfall, which seemed to have grown louder.
wanting in physical strength
From this reading The Prince was getting very weak.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Every once in a while he would hear the roaring of the waterfall, which seemed to have grown louder.
during the time that
From this reading Every once in a while he would hear the roaring of the waterfall, which seemed to have grown louder.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Every once in a while he would hear the roaring of the waterfall, which seemed to have grown louder.
Chapter 1 of The Firelight Fairy Book by Henry Beston holds 393 sentences, grouped into 79 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 393 sentences of The Firelight Fairy Book, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Firelight Fairy Book by Henry Beston exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 393 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 Firelight Fairy Book by Henry Beston on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2073 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #19207 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #19207, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 172 minutes of reading across 415 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Firelight Fairy Book section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Firelight Fairy Book 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 Firelight Fairy Book, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
