Chapter 2 of The Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in. What are you at, my fine little men? Making coats for gentlemen. Shall I come in and cut off yours threads? Oh, no, Miss Pussy, You'd bite off our heads!"
Chapter 2 of The Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter is here in full — 127 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/25 · 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.
to grip, cut off, or tear with or as if with the teeth or jaws
From this reading “Oh, no, Miss Pussy, You'd bite off our heads!"”
plural of “coat” — an outer garment that has sleeves and covers the body from shoulder down; worn outdoors
From this reading “Making coats for gentlemen.”
plural of “mouse” — any of numerous small rodents typically resembling diminutive rats having pointed snouts and small ears on elongated bodies with slender usually hairless tails
From this reading “The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.”
past form of “peep” — look furtively
From this reading “The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.”
obscene terms for female genitals
From this reading “The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.”
revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis
From this reading “The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.”
informal terms for clothing
From this reading “Shall I come in and cut off yours threads?”
a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence
From this reading “The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.”
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 The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading What are you at, my fine little men?
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading What are you at, my fine little men?
to grip, cut off, or tear with or as if with the teeth or jaws
From this reading Oh, no, Miss Pussy, You'd bite off our heads!"
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.
plural of “coat” — an outer garment that has sleeves and covers the body from shoulder down; worn outdoors
From this reading Making coats for gentlemen.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Shall I come in and cut off yours threads?
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading Shall I come in and cut off yours threads?
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading What are you at, my fine little men?
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Making coats for gentlemen.
plural of “gentleman” — a man of refinement
From this reading Making coats for gentlemen.
plural of “head” — the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Oh, no, Miss Pussy, You'd bite off our heads!"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Shall I come in and cut off yours threads?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading Making coats for gentlemen.
the force of workers available
From this reading What are you at, my fine little men?
plural of “mouse” — any of numerous small rodents typically resembling diminutive rats having pointed snouts and small ears on elongated bodies with slender usually hairless tails
From this reading The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading Oh, no, Miss Pussy, You'd bite off our heads!"
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading What are you at, my fine little men?
not any; not one
From this reading Oh, no, Miss Pussy, You'd bite off our heads!"
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Shall I come in and cut off yours threads?
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh, no, Miss Pussy, You'd bite off our heads!"
and nothing more
From this reading The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Oh, no, Miss Pussy, You'd bite off our heads!"
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.
past form of “peep” — look furtively
From this reading The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.
obscene terms for female genitals
From this reading The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading Shall I come in and cut off yours threads?
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.
revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis
From this reading The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.
informal terms for clothing
From this reading Shall I come in and cut off yours threads?
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.
a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence
From this reading The little mice only laughed, and tried another tune-- "Three little mice sat down to spin, Pussy passed by and she peeped in.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What are you at, my fine little men?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading What are you at, my fine little men?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Oh, no, Miss Pussy, You'd bite off our heads!"
the one or ones belonging to the person spoken to
From this reading Shall I come in and cut off yours threads?
Chapter 2 of The Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter by Beatrix Potter holds 127 sentences, grouped into 26 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 127 sentences of The Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter by Beatrix Potter exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 127 sentences, grouped into 26 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 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 26 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 Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter by Beatrix Potter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1924 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #572 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #572, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 160 minutes of reading across 385 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of The Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter 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 Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
