Chapter 2 of The Heart of the Red Firs is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Heart of the Red Firs is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Yes, does that count so much against me?" "I’m so sorry. You’ve been the best friend I ever had; the one I could always depend on. Oh, I wish—I wish it hadn’t happened." He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
Chapter 2 of The Heart of the Red Firs is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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.
a soft oily clay used as a pigment (especially a reddish brown pigment)
From this reading “He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.”
a structural member used to stiffen a framework
From this reading “He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.”
a ravine formed by a river in an area with little rainfall
From this reading “He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.”
determine the number or amount of
From this reading “"Yes, does that count so much against me?"”
be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading “You’ve been the best friend I ever had; the one I could always depend on.”
nonresinous wood of a fir tree
From this reading “He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.”
set down according to a plan
From this reading “He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.”
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading “"I’m so sorry.”
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.
anew
In this reading “He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.”
be contingent on
In this reading “You’ve been the best friend I ever had; the one I could always depend on.”
the one friend who is closest to you
In this reading “You’ve been the best friend I ever had; the one I could always depend on.”
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 laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading "Yes, does that count so much against me?"
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading You’ve been the best friend I ever had; the one I could always depend on.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading You’ve been the best friend I ever had; the one I could always depend on.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading You’ve been the best friend I ever had; the one I could always depend on.
a soft oily clay used as a pigment (especially a reddish brown pigment)
From this reading He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
a structural member used to stiffen a framework
From this reading He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
a ravine formed by a river in an area with little rainfall
From this reading He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading You’ve been the best friend I ever had; the one I could always depend on.
determine the number or amount of
From this reading "Yes, does that count so much against me?"
be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading You’ve been the best friend I ever had; the one I could always depend on.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Yes, does that count so much against me?"
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
at any time
From this reading You’ve been the best friend I ever had; the one I could always depend on.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
nonresinous wood of a fir tree
From this reading He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading You’ve been the best friend I ever had; the one I could always depend on.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading You’ve been the best friend I ever had; the one I could always depend on.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Oh, I wish—I wish it hadn’t happened."
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading Oh, I wish—I wish it hadn’t happened."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading You’ve been the best friend I ever had; the one I could always depend on.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I’m so sorry.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Oh, I wish—I wish it hadn’t happened."
set down according to a plan
From this reading He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "Yes, does that count so much against me?"
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading "Yes, does that count so much against me?"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh, I wish—I wish it hadn’t happened."
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading You’ve been the best friend I ever had; the one I could always depend on.
on one occasion
From this reading He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading You’ve been the best friend I ever had; the one I could always depend on.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "Yes, does that count so much against me?"
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading "I’m so sorry.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "Yes, does that count so much against me?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading You’ve been the best friend I ever had; the one I could always depend on.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading He laid his hand, bracing himself a little, on the bole of the fir, and turned his own face away, looking off once more down the canyon.
hope for; have a wish
From this reading Oh, I wish—I wish it hadn’t happened."
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes, does that count so much against me?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You’ve been the best friend I ever had; the one I could always depend on.
Chapter 2 of The Heart of the Red Firs by Ada Woodruff Anderson holds 428 sentences, grouped into 86 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 428 sentences of The Heart of the Red Firs, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Heart of the Red Firs by Ada Woodruff Anderson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 428 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Heart of the Red Firs by Ada Woodruff Anderson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6246 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #48644 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #48644, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 520 minutes of reading across 1250 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Heart of the Red Firs section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of The Heart of the Red Firs 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 Heart of the Red Firs, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
