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The fortunate calamity
The fortunate calamity

Chapter XII

Chapter 12 of The fortunate calamity is here in full — 108 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Pansy • Curated US English Learning Edition
Cover illustration for The fortunate calamity
Context Illustration Reading 1/21 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
SOMETHING HAPPENED “Y-YES’M,” he said at last, “or—well, some; and then—father has worries of his own.
Mortgages are kind of worrisome things, I guess; a man has to keep thinking about them.”
“Is there a mortgage?”
Derrick caught his breath in dismay; his instant thought was:
“Now you have put your foot in it, old blunderbuss; the idea of Aunt Elsie not knowing that there was a mortgage on the house!”
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The fortunate calamity

Chapter XII

Chapter 12 of The fortunate calamity is here in full — 108 sentences across 22 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/21 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
SOMETHING HAPPENED “Y-YES’M,” he said at last, “or—well, some; and then—father has worries of his own.
Line 2
Mortgages are kind of worrisome things, I guess; a man has to keep thinking about them.”
/ˈmɔːrɡədʒəz ɑːr kaɪnd ʌv ˈwɜːrisəm θɪŋz aɪ ɡes ə mæn hæz tuː kiːp ˈθɪŋkɪŋ əˈbaʊt ðem/
Line 3
“Is there a mortgage?”
/ɪz ðer ə ˈmɔːrɡədʒ/
Line 4
Derrick caught his breath in dismay; his instant thought was:
/ˈderɪk kɑːt hɪz breθ ɪn dɪˈsmeɪ hɪz ˈɪnstənt θɔːt wɑːz/
Line 5
“Now you have put your foot in it, old blunderbuss; the idea of Aunt Elsie not knowing that there was a mortgage on the house!”

Learner Dictionary

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.

Derrick noun US /ˈderɪk/

a framework erected over an oil well to allow drill tubes to be raised and lowered

From this reading “Derrick caught his breath in dismay; his instant thought was:”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
dismay noun US /dɪˈsmeɪ/

the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles

From this reading “Derrick caught his breath in dismay; his instant thought was:”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
instant noun US /ˈɪnstənt/

a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)

From this reading “Derrick caught his breath in dismay; his instant thought was:”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
knowing adjective US /ˈnoʊɪŋ/

evidencing the possession of inside information

From this reading ““Now you have put your foot in it, old blunderbuss; the idea of Aunt Elsie not knowing that there was a mortgage on the house!””

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
mortgage noun US /ˈmɔːrɡədʒ/

a conditional conveyance of property as security for the repayment of a loan

From this reading ““Is there a mortgage?””

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Mortgages noun US /ˈmɔːrɡədʒəz/

plural of “mortgage” — a conditional conveyance of property as security for the repayment of a loan

From this reading “Mortgages are kind of worrisome things, I guess; a man has to keep thinking about them.””

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
worries noun US /ˈwɜːriz/

plural of “worry” — something or someone that causes anxiety; a source of unhappiness

From this reading “SOMETHING HAPPENED “Y-YES’M,” he said at last, “or—well, some; and then—father has worries of his own.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
worrisome adjective US /ˈwɜːrisəm/

not reassuring; tending to cause anxiety

From this reading “Mortgages are kind of worrisome things, I guess; a man has to keep thinking about them.””

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1

Word partnerships in these lines

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 dismay preposition + noun

In this reading “Derrick caught his breath in dismay; his instant thought was:”

3,348 times in 426,211 chapters

All words in this reading · 61

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading Mortgages are kind of worrisome things, I guess; a man has to keep thinking about them.”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
aboutprepositionUS /əˈbaʊt/

on the subject of; concerning

From this reading Mortgages are kind of worrisome things, I guess; a man has to keep thinking about them.”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading SOMETHING HAPPENED “Y-YES’M,” he said at last, “or—well, some; and then—father has worries of his own.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
areauxiliary verbUS /ɑːr/

the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading Mortgages are kind of worrisome things, I guess; a man has to keep thinking about them.”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading SOMETHING HAPPENED “Y-YES’M,” he said at last, “or—well, some; and then—father has worries of his own.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
AuntnounUS /ænt/

the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle

From this reading “Now you have put your foot in it, old blunderbuss; the idea of Aunt Elsie not knowing that there was a mortgage on the house!”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
blunderbussnoun

a short musket of wide bore with a flared muzzle

From this reading “Now you have put your foot in it, old blunderbuss; the idea of Aunt Elsie not knowing that there was a mortgage on the house!”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
breathnounUS /breθ/

the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing

From this reading Derrick caught his breath in dismay; his instant thought was:

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
caughtverbUS /kɑːt/

inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state

From this reading Derrick caught his breath in dismay; his instant thought was:

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
DerricknounUS /ˈderɪk/

a framework erected over an oil well to allow drill tubes to be raised and lowered

From this reading Derrick caught his breath in dismay; his instant thought was:

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
dismaynounUS /dɪˈsmeɪ/

the feeling of despair in the face of obstacles

From this reading Derrick caught his breath in dismay; his instant thought was:

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Elsie

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading “Now you have put your foot in it, old blunderbuss; the idea of Aunt Elsie not knowing that there was a mortgage on the house!”

Pending verification
fathernounUS /ˈfɑːðər/

a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)

From this reading SOMETHING HAPPENED “Y-YES’M,” he said at last, “or—well, some; and then—father has worries of his own.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
footnounUS /fʊt/

the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint

From this reading “Now you have put your foot in it, old blunderbuss; the idea of Aunt Elsie not knowing that there was a mortgage on the house!”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
guessverbUS /ɡes/

expect, believe, or suppose

From this reading Mortgages are kind of worrisome things, I guess; a man has to keep thinking about them.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
HAPPENEDverbUS /ˈhæpənd/

past form of “happen” — come to pass

From this reading SOMETHING HAPPENED “Y-YES’M,” he said at last, “or—well, some; and then—father has worries of his own.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
hasauxiliary verbUS /hæz/

the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading SOMETHING HAPPENED “Y-YES’M,” he said at last, “or—well, some; and then—father has worries of his own.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading “Now you have put your foot in it, old blunderbuss; the idea of Aunt Elsie not knowing that there was a mortgage on the house!”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading SOMETHING HAPPENED “Y-YES’M,” he said at last, “or—well, some; and then—father has worries of his own.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading SOMETHING HAPPENED “Y-YES’M,” he said at last, “or—well, some; and then—father has worries of his own.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
housenounUS /haʊs/

a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families

From this reading “Now you have put your foot in it, old blunderbuss; the idea of Aunt Elsie not knowing that there was a mortgage on the house!”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading Mortgages are kind of worrisome things, I guess; a man has to keep thinking about them.”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
ideanounUS /aɪˈdiːə/

the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about

From this reading “Now you have put your foot in it, old blunderbuss; the idea of Aunt Elsie not knowing that there was a mortgage on the house!”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading Derrick caught his breath in dismay; his instant thought was:

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
instantnounUS /ˈɪnstənt/

a very short time (as the time it takes the eye to blink or the heart to beat)

From this reading Derrick caught his breath in dismay; his instant thought was:

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading “Is there a mortgage?”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading “Now you have put your foot in it, old blunderbuss; the idea of Aunt Elsie not knowing that there was a mortgage on the house!”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
keepverbUS /kiːp/

cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”

From this reading Mortgages are kind of worrisome things, I guess; a man has to keep thinking about them.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
kindadjectiveUS /kaɪnd/

having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior

From this reading Mortgages are kind of worrisome things, I guess; a man has to keep thinking about them.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
knowingadjectiveUS /ˈnoʊɪŋ/

evidencing the possession of inside information

From this reading “Now you have put your foot in it, old blunderbuss; the idea of Aunt Elsie not knowing that there was a mortgage on the house!”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
lastadjectiveUS /læst/

immediately past

From this reading SOMETHING HAPPENED “Y-YES’M,” he said at last, “or—well, some; and then—father has worries of his own.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
mannounUS /mæn/

an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)

From this reading Mortgages are kind of worrisome things, I guess; a man has to keep thinking about them.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
mortgagenounUS /ˈmɔːrɡədʒ/

a conditional conveyance of property as security for the repayment of a loan

From this reading “Is there a mortgage?”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
MortgagesnounUS /ˈmɔːrɡədʒəz/

plural of “mortgage” — a conditional conveyance of property as security for the repayment of a loan

From this reading Mortgages are kind of worrisome things, I guess; a man has to keep thinking about them.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading “Now you have put your foot in it, old blunderbuss; the idea of Aunt Elsie not knowing that there was a mortgage on the house!”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
NowadverbUS /naʊ/

in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events

From this reading “Now you have put your foot in it, old blunderbuss; the idea of Aunt Elsie not knowing that there was a mortgage on the house!”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading SOMETHING HAPPENED “Y-YES’M,” he said at last, “or—well, some; and then—father has worries of his own.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
oldadjectiveUS /oʊld/

(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age

From this reading “Now you have put your foot in it, old blunderbuss; the idea of Aunt Elsie not knowing that there was a mortgage on the house!”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading “Now you have put your foot in it, old blunderbuss; the idea of Aunt Elsie not knowing that there was a mortgage on the house!”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

From this reading SOMETHING HAPPENED “Y-YES’M,” he said at last, “or—well, some; and then—father has worries of his own.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
ownverbUS /oʊn/

have ownership or possession of

From this reading SOMETHING HAPPENED “Y-YES’M,” he said at last, “or—well, some; and then—father has worries of his own.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
putverbUS /pʊt/

put into a certain place or abstract location

From this reading “Now you have put your foot in it, old blunderbuss; the idea of Aunt Elsie not knowing that there was a mortgage on the house!”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading SOMETHING HAPPENED “Y-YES’M,” he said at last, “or—well, some; and then—father has worries of his own.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
someadjectiveUS /sʌm/

(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity

From this reading SOMETHING HAPPENED “Y-YES’M,” he said at last, “or—well, some; and then—father has worries of his own.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
SOMETHINGpronounUS /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/

a thing, without saying which

From this reading SOMETHING HAPPENED “Y-YES’M,” he said at last, “or—well, some; and then—father has worries of his own.

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading “Now you have put your foot in it, old blunderbuss; the idea of Aunt Elsie not knowing that there was a mortgage on the house!”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading “Now you have put your foot in it, old blunderbuss; the idea of Aunt Elsie not knowing that there was a mortgage on the house!”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
thempronounUS /ðem/

the people or things already mentioned, as the object

From this reading Mortgages are kind of worrisome things, I guess; a man has to keep thinking about them.”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
thenadverbUS /ðen/

subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)

From this reading SOMETHING HAPPENED “Y-YES’M,” he said at last, “or—well, some; and then—father has worries of his own.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
thereadverbUS /ðer/

in or at that place or location

From this reading “Is there a mortgage?”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
thingsnounUS /θɪŋz/

any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)

From this reading Mortgages are kind of worrisome things, I guess; a man has to keep thinking about them.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
thinkingnounUS /ˈθɪŋkɪŋ/

the process of using your mind to consider something carefully

From this reading Mortgages are kind of worrisome things, I guess; a man has to keep thinking about them.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
thoughtnounUS /θɔːt/

the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about

From this reading Derrick caught his breath in dismay; his instant thought was:

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading Mortgages are kind of worrisome things, I guess; a man has to keep thinking about them.”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading Derrick caught his breath in dismay; his instant thought was:

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
welladverbUS /wel/

(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)

From this reading SOMETHING HAPPENED “Y-YES’M,” he said at last, “or—well, some; and then—father has worries of his own.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
worriesnounUS /ˈwɜːriz/

plural of “worry” — something or someone that causes anxiety; a source of unhappiness

From this reading SOMETHING HAPPENED “Y-YES’M,” he said at last, “or—well, some; and then—father has worries of his own.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
worrisomeadjectiveUS /ˈwɜːrisəm/

not reassuring; tending to cause anxiety

From this reading Mortgages are kind of worrisome things, I guess; a man has to keep thinking about them.”

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary · Princeton WordNet 3.1
Y-YES'M

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading SOMETHING HAPPENED “Y-YES’M,” he said at last, “or—well, some; and then—father has worries of his own.

Pending verification
youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading “Now you have put your foot in it, old blunderbuss; the idea of Aunt Elsie not knowing that there was a mortgage on the house!”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary
yourdeterminerUS /jɔːr/

belonging to the person or people being spoken to

From this reading “Now you have put your foot in it, old blunderbuss; the idea of Aunt Elsie not knowing that there was a mortgage on the house!”

Velmora grammar entry · CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Chapter 12 of The fortunate calamity by Pansy holds 108 sentences, grouped into 22 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.

What does chapter 12 of The fortunate calamity contain?

Chapter 12 holds 108 sentences of The fortunate calamity, unabridged, divided into 22 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 12 of The fortunate calamity by Pansy exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 108 sentences, grouped into 22 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.

How do I study chapter 12 of The fortunate calamity?

Work through the 22 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 22 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.

Can chapter 12 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 12 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.

Questions about reading The fortunate calamity

Common questions about reading The fortunate calamity by Pansy on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The fortunate calamity?

Yes. All 1887 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #70225 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The fortunate calamity is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #70225, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The fortunate calamity take to read?

About 157 minutes of reading across 378 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The fortunate calamity section by section

How to work through The fortunate calamity section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 15 chapters of The fortunate calamity to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The fortunate calamity

Words and structures a reader meets early in The fortunate calamity, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Author
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The fortunate calamity; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Ester
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The fortunate calamity; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Otherwise
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The fortunate calamity; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Girls
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The fortunate calamity; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.