Chapter III of The House of Delight, “At the Seashore,” is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter III of The House of Delight, “At the Seashore,” is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“What are you making, Betsey?” asked Tom, one hot July day. “A cottage,” said Betsey. “Whew! There’s nothing small about you! What do you want of a cottage when you’ve got a new doll-house?”
Chapter III of The House of Delight, “At the Seashore,” is here in full — 196 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/39 · 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 small house with a single story
From this reading ““A cottage,” said Betsey.”
used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
From this reading ““What are you making, Betsey?” asked Tom, one hot July day.”
the month following June and preceding August
From this reading ““What are you making, Betsey?” asked Tom, one hot July day.”
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading ““What are you making, Betsey?” asked Tom, one hot July day.”
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading “What do you want of a cottage when you’ve got a new doll-house?””
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading “There’s nothing small about you!”
male cat
From this reading ““What are you making, Betsey?” asked Tom, one hot July day.”
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading “What do you want of a cottage when you’ve got a new doll-house?””
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.
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 “A cottage,” said Betsey.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading There’s nothing small about you!
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “What are you making, Betsey?” asked Tom, one hot July day.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “What are you making, Betsey?” asked Tom, one hot July day.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What are you making, Betsey?” asked Tom, one hot July day.
a small house with a single story
From this reading “A cottage,” said Betsey.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading “What are you making, Betsey?” asked Tom, one hot July day.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading What do you want of a cottage when you’ve got a new doll-house?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading What do you want of a cottage when you’ve got a new doll-house?”
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading What do you want of a cottage when you’ve got a new doll-house?”
used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
From this reading “What are you making, Betsey?” asked Tom, one hot July day.
the month following June and preceding August
From this reading “What are you making, Betsey?” asked Tom, one hot July day.
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading “What are you making, Betsey?” asked Tom, one hot July day.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading What do you want of a cottage when you’ve got a new doll-house?”
not one thing; not anything
From this reading There’s nothing small about you!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading What do you want of a cottage when you’ve got a new doll-house?”
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “What are you making, Betsey?” asked Tom, one hot July day.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “A cottage,” said Betsey.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading There’s nothing small about you!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There’s nothing small about you!
male cat
From this reading “What are you making, Betsey?” asked Tom, one hot July day.
feel or have a desire for; want strongly
From this reading What do you want of a cottage when you’ve got a new doll-house?”
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “What are you making, Betsey?” asked Tom, one hot July day.
at the time that
From this reading What do you want of a cottage when you’ve got a new doll-house?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Whew!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “What are you making, Betsey?” asked Tom, one hot July day.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading What do you want of a cottage when you’ve got a new doll-house?”
Chapter 3 of The House of Delight by Gertrude Chandler Warner holds 196 sentences, grouped into 40 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 3 holds 196 sentences of The House of Delight, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The House of Delight by Gertrude Chandler Warner exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 196 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 3 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 House of Delight by Gertrude Chandler Warner on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 839 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62714 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #62714, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 69 minutes of reading across 168 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The House of Delight section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of The House of Delight 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 House of Delight, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
