Chapter 1 of The Grasshopper Stories is here in full — 280 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Grasshopper Stories is here in full — 280 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WITH Illustrations by Maude Dewey Doan Henderson & DePew PRINTERS JACKSONVILLE, ILL. Come, read these tales with me! For the secrets they tell You will understand well If you're good as good can be! "Come, Billy!" Billy dropped his tin-soldier on the ground and ran in to help his mother wipe the dishes.
Chapter 1 of The Grasshopper Stories is here in full — 280 sentences across 56 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/56 · 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.
United States librarian who founded the decimal system of classification (1851-1931)
From this reading “WITH Illustrations by Maude Dewey Doan Henderson & DePew PRINTERS JACKSONVILLE, ILL.”
plural of “dish” — a piece of dishware normally used as a container for holding or serving food
From this reading “Billy dropped his tin-soldier on the ground and ran in to help his mother wipe the dishes.”
plural of “illustration” — artwork that helps make something clear or attractive
From this reading “WITH Illustrations by Maude Dewey Doan Henderson & DePew PRINTERS JACKSONVILLE, ILL.”
Florida's largest city; a port and important commercial center in northeastern Florida
From this reading “WITH Illustrations by Maude Dewey Doan Henderson & DePew PRINTERS JACKSONVILLE, ILL.”
plural of “printer” — someone whose occupation is printing
From this reading “WITH Illustrations by Maude Dewey Doan Henderson & DePew PRINTERS JACKSONVILLE, ILL.”
plural of “secret” — something that should remain hidden from others (especially information that is not to be passed on)
From this reading “For the secrets they tell You will understand well If you're good as good can be!”
plural of “tale” — a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading “Come, read these tales with me!”
rub with a circular motion
From this reading “Billy dropped his tin-soldier on the ground and ran in to help his mother wipe the dishes.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Billy dropped his tin-soldier on the ground and ran in to help his mother wipe the dishes.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading For the secrets they tell You will understand well If you're good as good can be!
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading For the secrets they tell You will understand well If you're good as good can be!
a short stout club used primarily by policemen
From this reading "Come, Billy!"
showing who or what does the action
From this reading WITH Illustrations by Maude Dewey Doan Henderson & DePew PRINTERS JACKSONVILLE, ILL.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading For the secrets they tell You will understand well If you're good as good can be!
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Come, read these tales with me!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WITH Illustrations by Maude Dewey Doan Henderson & DePew PRINTERS JACKSONVILLE, ILL.
United States librarian who founded the decimal system of classification (1851-1931)
From this reading WITH Illustrations by Maude Dewey Doan Henderson & DePew PRINTERS JACKSONVILLE, ILL.
plural of “dish” — a piece of dishware normally used as a container for holding or serving food
From this reading Billy dropped his tin-soldier on the ground and ran in to help his mother wipe the dishes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WITH Illustrations by Maude Dewey Doan Henderson & DePew PRINTERS JACKSONVILLE, ILL.
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading Billy dropped his tin-soldier on the ground and ran in to help his mother wipe the dishes.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For the secrets they tell You will understand well If you're good as good can be!
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading For the secrets they tell You will understand well If you're good as good can be!
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading Billy dropped his tin-soldier on the ground and ran in to help his mother wipe the dishes.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading Billy dropped his tin-soldier on the ground and ran in to help his mother wipe the dishes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WITH Illustrations by Maude Dewey Doan Henderson & DePew PRINTERS JACKSONVILLE, ILL.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Billy dropped his tin-soldier on the ground and ran in to help his mother wipe the dishes.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading For the secrets they tell You will understand well If you're good as good can be!
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading WITH Illustrations by Maude Dewey Doan Henderson & DePew PRINTERS JACKSONVILLE, ILL.
plural of “illustration” — artwork that helps make something clear or attractive
From this reading WITH Illustrations by Maude Dewey Doan Henderson & DePew PRINTERS JACKSONVILLE, ILL.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Billy dropped his tin-soldier on the ground and ran in to help his mother wipe the dishes.
Florida's largest city; a port and important commercial center in northeastern Florida
From this reading WITH Illustrations by Maude Dewey Doan Henderson & DePew PRINTERS JACKSONVILLE, ILL.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading WITH Illustrations by Maude Dewey Doan Henderson & DePew PRINTERS JACKSONVILLE, ILL.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Come, read these tales with me!
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Billy dropped his tin-soldier on the ground and ran in to help his mother wipe the dishes.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Billy dropped his tin-soldier on the ground and ran in to help his mother wipe the dishes.
plural of “printer” — someone whose occupation is printing
From this reading WITH Illustrations by Maude Dewey Doan Henderson & DePew PRINTERS JACKSONVILLE, ILL.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading Billy dropped his tin-soldier on the ground and ran in to help his mother wipe the dishes.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading Come, read these tales with me!
plural of “secret” — something that should remain hidden from others (especially information that is not to be passed on)
From this reading For the secrets they tell You will understand well If you're good as good can be!
plural of “tale” — a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading Come, read these tales with me!
express in words
From this reading For the secrets they tell You will understand well If you're good as good can be!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading For the secrets they tell You will understand well If you're good as good can be!
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading Come, read these tales with me!
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading For the secrets they tell You will understand well If you're good as good can be!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Billy dropped his tin-soldier on the ground and ran in to help his mother wipe the dishes.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Billy dropped his tin-soldier on the ground and ran in to help his mother wipe the dishes.
know and comprehend the nature or meaning of
From this reading For the secrets they tell You will understand well If you're good as good can be!
(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 For the secrets they tell You will understand well If you're good as good can be!
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading For the secrets they tell You will understand well If you're good as good can be!
rub with a circular motion
From this reading Billy dropped his tin-soldier on the ground and ran in to help his mother wipe the dishes.
in the company of; together with
From this reading WITH Illustrations by Maude Dewey Doan Henderson & DePew PRINTERS JACKSONVILLE, ILL.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading For the secrets they tell You will understand well If you're good as good can be!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading For the secrets they tell You will understand well If you're good as good can be!
Chapter 1 of The Grasshopper Stories by Elizabeth Davis Leavitt holds 280 sentences, grouped into 56 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 280 sentences of The Grasshopper Stories, unabridged, divided into 56 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Grasshopper Stories by Elizabeth Davis Leavitt exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 280 sentences, grouped into 56 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 56 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 56 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 Grasshopper Stories by Elizabeth Davis Leavitt on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 280 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #20315 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #20315, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 23 minutes of reading across 56 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Grasshopper Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Grasshopper Stories 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 Grasshopper Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
