Chapter 3 of The Jumble Book: A Jumble of Good Things is here in full — 452 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Jumble Book: A Jumble of Good Things is here in full — 452 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Aunt Dorothy took the crumpled note and unfolded it carefully. After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights. I've fetched her to be your valentine. She's hungry. "DICK."
Chapter 3 of The Jumble Book: A Jumble of Good Things is here in full — 452 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/90 · 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.
of metal e.g.
From this reading “Aunt Dorothy took the crumpled note and unfolded it carefully.”
past form of “fetch” — go or come after and bring or take back
From this reading “I've fetched her to be your valentine.”
feeling hunger; feeling a need or desire to eat food
From this reading “She's hungry.”
Periods of darkness between sunset and sunrise.
From this reading “After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.”
-ing form of “stay” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading “After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.”
plant fiber used e.g. for making baskets and hats or as fodder
From this reading “After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.”
past form of “unfold” — develop or come to a promising stage
From this reading “Aunt Dorothy took the crumpled note and unfolded it carefully.”
a sweetheart chosen to receive a greeting on Saint Valentine's Day
From this reading “I've fetched her to be your valentine.”
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.
In this reading “After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.”
a youthful female person
In this reading “After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.”
In this reading “After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.”
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 After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
later than; following
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Aunt Dorothy took the crumpled note and unfolded it carefully.
the sister of your father or mother; the wife of your uncle
From this reading Aunt Dorothy took the crumpled note and unfolded it carefully.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I've fetched her to be your valentine.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
a (usually rectangular) container; may have a lid
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
taking care or paying attention
From this reading Aunt Dorothy took the crumpled note and unfolded it carefully.
of metal e.g.
From this reading Aunt Dorothy took the crumpled note and unfolded it carefully.
someone who is a detective
From this reading "DICK."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Aunt Dorothy took the crumpled note and unfolded it carefully.
past form of “fetch” — go or come after and bring or take back
From this reading I've fetched her to be your valentine.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
your parents
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
a young female
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I've fetched her to be your valentine.
feeling hunger; feeling a need or desire to eat food
From this reading She's hungry.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I've fetched her to be your valentine.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Aunt Dorothy took the crumpled note and unfolded it carefully.
the literary culture
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
past form of “manage” — be successful; achieve a goal
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
a written account of what transpired at a meeting
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
Periods of darkness between sunset and sunrise.
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
not any; not one
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
a brief written record
From this reading Aunt Dorothy took the crumpled note and unfolded it carefully.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
-ing form of “stay” — stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
plant fiber used e.g. for making baskets and hats or as fodder
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Aunt Dorothy took the crumpled note and unfolded it carefully.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading Aunt Dorothy took the crumpled note and unfolded it carefully.
past form of “unfold” — develop or come to a promising stage
From this reading Aunt Dorothy took the crumpled note and unfolded it carefully.
a sweetheart chosen to receive a greeting on Saint Valentine's Day
From this reading I've fetched her to be your valentine.
in the company of; together with
From this reading After a few minutes she managed to read the scrawling letters: "This little girl ain't got no folks and no place to stay; so she's been staying in a box with straw in it with me nights.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I've fetched her to be your valentine.
Chapter 3 of The Jumble Book: A Jumble of Good Things by David Cory holds 452 sentences, grouped into 91 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 452 sentences of The Jumble Book: A Jumble of Good Things, unabridged, divided into 91 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Jumble Book: A Jumble of Good Things by David Cory exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 452 sentences, grouped into 91 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 91 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 91 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 Jumble Book: A Jumble of Good Things by David Cory on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1798 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42162 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #42162, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 149 minutes of reading across 360 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Jumble Book: A Jumble of Good Things section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Jumble Book: A Jumble of Good Things 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 Jumble Book: A Jumble of Good Things, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
