Chapter 2 of The French Twins is here in full — 486 sentences across 98 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The French Twins is here in full — 486 sentences across 98 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Dazed, happy, grieved, the children obeyed. They found Madame Coudert beaming above her empty counter. "Bless you," she cried, when they gave her their Mother's message, "of course you can stay! There are no pink cakes for Pierre, but who cares for cakes now that the French are once more in Rheims! And to think you have your Father back again!
Chapter 2 of The French Twins is here in full — 486 sentences across 98 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/97 · 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.
cheerful and bright
From this reading “They found Madame Coudert beaming above her empty counter.”
plural of “cake” — a block of solid substance (such as soap or wax)
From this reading “There are no pink cakes for Pierre, but who cares for cakes now that the French are once more in Rheims!”
plural of “care” — the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading “There are no pink cakes for Pierre, but who cares for cakes now that the French are once more in Rheims!”
table consisting of a horizontal surface over which business is transacted
From this reading “They found Madame Coudert beaming above her empty counter.”
in a state of mental numbness especially as resulting from shock
From this reading “Dazed, happy, grieved, the children obeyed.”
past form of “grieve” — feel grief
From this reading “Dazed, happy, grieved, the children obeyed.”
past form of “obey” — be obedient to
From this reading “Dazed, happy, grieved, the children obeyed.”
capital of the state of South Dakota; located in central South Dakota on the Missouri river
From this reading “There are no pink cakes for Pierre, but who cares for cakes now that the French are once more in Rheims!”
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.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading They found Madame Coudert beaming above her empty counter.
anew
From this reading And to think you have your Father back again!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And to think you have your Father back again!
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There are no pink cakes for Pierre, but who cares for cakes now that the French are once more in Rheims!
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading And to think you have your Father back again!
cheerful and bright
From this reading They found Madame Coudert beaming above her empty counter.
give a benediction to
From this reading "Bless you," she cried, when they gave her their Mother's message, "of course you can stay!
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading There are no pink cakes for Pierre, but who cares for cakes now that the French are once more in Rheims!
plural of “cake” — a block of solid substance (such as soap or wax)
From this reading There are no pink cakes for Pierre, but who cares for cakes now that the French are once more in Rheims!
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading "Bless you," she cried, when they gave her their Mother's message, "of course you can stay!
plural of “care” — the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading There are no pink cakes for Pierre, but who cares for cakes now that the French are once more in Rheims!
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading Dazed, happy, grieved, the children obeyed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They found Madame Coudert beaming above her empty counter.
table consisting of a horizontal surface over which business is transacted
From this reading They found Madame Coudert beaming above her empty counter.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading "Bless you," she cried, when they gave her their Mother's message, "of course you can stay!
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "Bless you," she cried, when they gave her their Mother's message, "of course you can stay!
in a state of mental numbness especially as resulting from shock
From this reading Dazed, happy, grieved, the children obeyed.
make void or empty of contents
From this reading They found Madame Coudert beaming above her empty counter.
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading And to think you have your Father back again!
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading There are no pink cakes for Pierre, but who cares for cakes now that the French are once more in Rheims!
set up or found
From this reading They found Madame Coudert beaming above her empty counter.
the Romance language spoken in France and in countries colonized by France
From this reading There are no pink cakes for Pierre, but who cares for cakes now that the French are once more in Rheims!
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading "Bless you," she cried, when they gave her their Mother's message, "of course you can stay!
past form of “grieve” — feel grief
From this reading Dazed, happy, grieved, the children obeyed.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading Dazed, happy, grieved, the children obeyed.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading And to think you have your Father back again!
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading They found Madame Coudert beaming above her empty counter.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading There are no pink cakes for Pierre, but who cares for cakes now that the French are once more in Rheims!
title used for a married Frenchwoman
From this reading They found Madame Coudert beaming above her empty counter.
a communication (usually brief) that is written or spoken or signaled
From this reading "Bless you," she cried, when they gave her their Mother's message, "of course you can stay!
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading There are no pink cakes for Pierre, but who cares for cakes now that the French are once more in Rheims!
possessive form of “mother” — a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading "Bless you," she cried, when they gave her their Mother's message, "of course you can stay!
not any; not one
From this reading There are no pink cakes for Pierre, but who cares for cakes now that the French are once more in Rheims!
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading There are no pink cakes for Pierre, but who cares for cakes now that the French are once more in Rheims!
past form of “obey” — be obedient to
From this reading Dazed, happy, grieved, the children obeyed.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Bless you," she cried, when they gave her their Mother's message, "of course you can stay!
on one occasion
From this reading There are no pink cakes for Pierre, but who cares for cakes now that the French are once more in Rheims!
capital of the state of South Dakota; located in central South Dakota on the Missouri river
From this reading There are no pink cakes for Pierre, but who cares for cakes now that the French are once more in Rheims!
a light shade of red
From this reading There are no pink cakes for Pierre, but who cares for cakes now that the French are once more in Rheims!
a city in northeastern France to the east of Paris; scene of the coronation of most French kings; site of the unconditional German surrender in 1945 at the end of World War II
From this reading There are no pink cakes for Pierre, but who cares for cakes now that the French are once more in Rheims!
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Bless you," she cried, when they gave her their Mother's message, "of course you can stay!
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading "Bless you," she cried, when they gave her their Mother's message, "of course you can stay!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading There are no pink cakes for Pierre, but who cares for cakes now that the French are once more in Rheims!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Dazed, happy, grieved, the children obeyed.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading "Bless you," she cried, when they gave her their Mother's message, "of course you can stay!
in or at that place or location
From this reading There are no pink cakes for Pierre, but who cares for cakes now that the French are once more in Rheims!
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They found Madame Coudert beaming above her empty counter.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading And to think you have your Father back again!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading And to think you have your Father back again!
at the time that
From this reading "Bless you," she cried, when they gave her their Mother's message, "of course you can stay!
which person or people
From this reading There are no pink cakes for Pierre, but who cares for cakes now that the French are once more in Rheims!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Bless you," she cried, when they gave her their Mother's message, "of course you can stay!
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading And to think you have your Father back again!
Chapter 2 of The French Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins holds 486 sentences, grouped into 98 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 2 holds 486 sentences of The French Twins, unabridged, divided into 98 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The French Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 486 sentences, grouped into 98 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 98 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 98 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 2 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 French Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1449 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4091 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4091, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 120 minutes of reading across 290 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The French Twins section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of The French 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 French Twins, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
