Chapter 12 of The Indian Lily and Other Stories is here in full — 71 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Indian Lily and Other Stories is here in full — 71 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Into the river! For that her father would put her in the street was clear. It was equally clear what would become of her in that case.... But no, not into the river! Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?
Chapter 12 of The Indian Lily and Other Stories is here in full — 71 sentences across 15 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/14 · 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 knot with two loops and loose ends; used to tie shoelaces
From this reading “Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?”
attractive especially by means of smallness or prettiness or quaintness
From this reading “Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?”
to the same degree (often followed by “as”)
From this reading “It was equally clear what would become of her in that case....”
in a helpless manner
From this reading “Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?”
a sudden and severe onset of trouble
From this reading “Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?”
skillful after much practice
From this reading “Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?”
intensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality
From this reading “Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?”
an ability that has been acquired by training
From this reading “Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?”
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 Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?
enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading It was equally clear what would become of her in that case....
a knot with two loops and loose ends; used to tie shoelaces
From this reading Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But no, not into the river!
an occurrence of something
From this reading It was equally clear what would become of her in that case....
rid of obstructions
From this reading For that her father would put her in the street was clear.
attractive especially by means of smallness or prettiness or quaintness
From this reading Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?
to the same degree (often followed by “as”)
From this reading It was equally clear what would become of her in that case....
an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future
From this reading Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?
a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading For that her father would put her in the street was clear.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For that her father would put her in the street was clear.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?
in a helpless manner
From this reading Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading For that her father would put her in the street was clear.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading For that her father would put her in the street was clear.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Into the river!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was equally clear what would become of her in that case....
not any; not one
From this reading But no, not into the river!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading But no, not into the river!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was equally clear what would become of her in that case....
a sudden and severe onset of trouble
From this reading Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?
skillful after much practice
From this reading Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading For that her father would put her in the street was clear.
a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading Into the river!
intensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality
From this reading Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?
an ability that has been acquired by training
From this reading Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading For that her father would put her in the street was clear.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading For that her father would put her in the street was clear.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Into the river!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?
below or beneath something; less than
From this reading Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading For that her father would put her in the street was clear.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading It was equally clear what would become of her in that case....
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading For that her father would put her in the street was clear.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Why was her young head so practised in skill and cunning, if it was to bow helplessly under the first severe onslaught of fate?
Chapter 12 of The Indian Lily and Other Stories by Hermann Sudermann holds 71 sentences, grouped into 15 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 12 holds 71 sentences of The Indian Lily and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 15 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Indian Lily and Other Stories by Hermann Sudermann exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 71 sentences, grouped into 15 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 15 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 15 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 12 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 Indian Lily and Other Stories by Hermann Sudermann on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4273 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9994 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9994, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 356 minutes of reading across 855 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Indian Lily and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Indian Lily and Other 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 Indian Lily and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
