Chapter 3 of The fireside story book is here in full — 523 sentences across 105 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The fireside story book is here in full — 523 sentences across 105 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"God bless the boy, how he talks! Four miles there, and four miles back again, afore breakfast." "Aye, upon Lightfoot, you know, mother, very easily; mayn't I?" "Aye, child." "Why do you sigh, mother?"
Chapter 3 of The fireside story book is here in full — 523 sentences across 105 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/104 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
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.
give a benediction to
From this reading “"God bless the boy, how he talks!”
eat an early morning meal
From this reading “Four miles there, and four miles back again, afore breakfast."”
a young person of either sex
From this reading “"Aye, child."”
with ease (“easy” is sometimes used informally for “easily”)
From this reading “"Aye, upon Lightfoot, you know, mother, very easily; mayn't I?"”
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading “Four miles there, and four miles back again, afore breakfast."”
plural of “mile” — a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading “Four miles there, and four miles back again, afore breakfast."”
heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading “"Why do you sigh, mother?"”
a discussion intended to produce an agreement
From this reading “"God bless the boy, how he talks!”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “Four miles there, and four miles back again, afore breakfast."”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Four miles there, and four miles back again, afore breakfast."
anew
From this reading Four miles there, and four miles back again, afore breakfast."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Four miles there, and four miles back again, afore breakfast."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Aye, upon Lightfoot, you know, mother, very easily; mayn't I?"
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Four miles there, and four miles back again, afore breakfast."
give a benediction to
From this reading "God bless the boy, how he talks!
a youthful male person
From this reading "God bless the boy, how he talks!
eat an early morning meal
From this reading Four miles there, and four miles back again, afore breakfast."
a young person of either sex
From this reading "Aye, child."
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Why do you sigh, mother?"
with ease (“easy” is sometimes used informally for “easily”)
From this reading "Aye, upon Lightfoot, you know, mother, very easily; mayn't I?"
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading Four miles there, and four miles back again, afore breakfast."
the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading "God bless the boy, how he talks!
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "God bless the boy, how he talks!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "God bless the boy, how he talks!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Aye, upon Lightfoot, you know, mother, very easily; mayn't I?"
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading "Aye, upon Lightfoot, you know, mother, very easily; mayn't I?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Aye, upon Lightfoot, you know, mother, very easily; mayn't I?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Aye, upon Lightfoot, you know, mother, very easily; mayn't I?"
plural of “mile” — a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading Four miles there, and four miles back again, afore breakfast."
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading "Aye, upon Lightfoot, you know, mother, very easily; mayn't I?"
heave or utter a sigh; breathe deeply and heavily
From this reading "Why do you sigh, mother?"
a discussion intended to produce an agreement
From this reading "God bless the boy, how he talks!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "God bless the boy, how he talks!
in or at that place or location
From this reading Four miles there, and four miles back again, afore breakfast."
a formal word for “on”
From this reading "Aye, upon Lightfoot, you know, mother, very easily; mayn't I?"
precisely as stated
From this reading "Aye, upon Lightfoot, you know, mother, very easily; mayn't I?"
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why do you sigh, mother?"
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Aye, upon Lightfoot, you know, mother, very easily; mayn't I?"
Chapter 3 of The fireside story book by Maria Edgeworth holds 523 sentences, grouped into 105 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 3 holds 523 sentences of The fireside story book, unabridged, divided into 105 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The fireside story book by Maria Edgeworth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 523 sentences, grouped into 105 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 105 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 105 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 3 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 fireside story book by Maria Edgeworth on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The fireside story book section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The fireside story 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 fireside story book, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
