Chapter 1 of The Golden Scarecrow is here in full — 392 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 Golden Scarecrow is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
He was short and round, and his head was covered with tight little curls. His cheeks were chubby and red and his nose small, his mouth also very small. He had no chin. He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats. Hugh had never seen white spats before.
Chapter 1 of The Golden Scarecrow is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 19/78 · 5 reading units · Lines 91–95
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.
an alloy of copper and zinc
From this reading “He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats.”
plural of “button” — a round fastener sewn to shirts and coats etc to fit through buttonholes
From this reading “He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats.”
sufficiently fat so as to have a pleasing fullness of figure
From this reading “His cheeks were chubby and red and his nose small, his mouth also very small.”
plural of “curl” — a round shape formed by a series of concentric circles (as formed by leaves or flower petals)
From this reading “He was short and round, and his head was covered with tight little curls.”
plural of “spat” — a quarrel about petty points
From this reading “He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats.”
closely constrained or constricted or constricting
From this reading “He was short and round, and his head was covered with tight little curls.”
a silky densely piled fabric with a plain back
From this reading “He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats.”
(geology) the mechanical process of wearing or grinding something down (as by particles washing over it)
From this reading “He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats.”
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 “He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats.”
In this reading “He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats.”
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 He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats.
in addition
From this reading His cheeks were chubby and red and his nose small, his mouth also very small.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He was short and round, and his head was covered with tight little curls.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Hugh had never seen white spats before.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats.
of the color intermediate between green and violet; having a color similar to that of a clear unclouded sky
From this reading He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats.
an alloy of copper and zinc
From this reading He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats.
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats.
plural of “button” — a round fastener sewn to shirts and coats etc to fit through buttonholes
From this reading He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats.
plural of “cheek” — either side of the face below the eyes
From this reading His cheeks were chubby and red and his nose small, his mouth also very small.
the protruding part of the lower jaw
From this reading He had no chin.
sufficiently fat so as to have a pleasing fullness of figure
From this reading His cheeks were chubby and red and his nose small, his mouth also very small.
overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form
From this reading He was short and round, and his head was covered with tight little curls.
plural of “curl” — a round shape formed by a series of concentric circles (as formed by leaves or flower petals)
From this reading He was short and round, and his head was covered with tight little curls.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He had no chin.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was short and round, and his head was covered with tight little curls.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading He was short and round, and his head was covered with tight little curls.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He was short and round, and his head was covered with tight little curls.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hugh had never seen white spats before.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading He was short and round, and his head was covered with tight little curls.
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading His cheeks were chubby and red and his nose small, his mouth also very small.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Hugh had never seen white spats before.
not any; not one
From this reading He had no chin.
the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
From this reading His cheeks were chubby and red and his nose small, his mouth also very small.
above and across; more than
From this reading He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading His cheeks were chubby and red and his nose small, his mouth also very small.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading He was short and round, and his head was covered with tight little curls.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Hugh had never seen white spats before.
a particular situation
From this reading He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats.
inflected form of “shine” — be bright by reflecting or casting light
From this reading He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading He was short and round, and his head was covered with tight little curls.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading His cheeks were chubby and red and his nose small, his mouth also very small.
plural of “spat” — a quarrel about petty points
From this reading He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats.
in or at that place or location
From this reading He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats.
closely constrained or constricted or constricting
From this reading He was short and round, and his head was covered with tight little curls.
a silky densely piled fabric with a plain back
From this reading He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats.
precisely as stated
From this reading His cheeks were chubby and red and his nose small, his mouth also very small.
a man's sleeveless garment worn underneath a coat
From this reading He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was short and round, and his head was covered with tight little curls.
(geology) the mechanical process of wearing or grinding something down (as by particles washing over it)
From this reading He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading His cheeks were chubby and red and his nose small, his mouth also very small.
a Caucasian
From this reading He was wearing a bright blue velvet waistcoat with brass buttons, and over his black shoes there shone white spats.
in the company of; together with
From this reading He was short and round, and his head was covered with tight little curls.
Chapter 1 of The Golden Scarecrow by Hugh Walpole holds 392 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 392 sentences of The Golden Scarecrow, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Golden Scarecrow by Hugh Walpole exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 392 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 Golden Scarecrow by Hugh Walpole on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3251 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14201 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14201, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 270 minutes of reading across 651 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Golden Scarecrow section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Golden Scarecrow 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 Golden Scarecrow, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
