Chapter 3 of The Laughter of Peterkin is here in full — 446 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Laughter of Peterkin is here in full — 446 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
For a moment Lairgnen quailed. The angry voice of a cleric was a perilous omen in those days. Then he strode forward, dragging after him the four swans. Suddenly a wild, strange cry resounded over the church. All stood silent, appalled.
Chapter 3 of The Laughter of Peterkin is here in full — 446 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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.
feeling or showing anger
From this reading “The angry voice of a cleric was a perilous omen in those days.”
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading “All stood silent, appalled.”
a clergyman or other person in religious orders
From this reading “The angry voice of a cleric was a perilous omen in those days.”
marked by a painfully slow and effortful manner
From this reading “Then he strode forward, dragging after him the four swans.”
a sign of something about to happen
From this reading “The angry voice of a cleric was a perilous omen in those days.”
fraught with danger
From this reading “The angry voice of a cleric was a perilous omen in those days.”
inflected form of “stride” — walk with long steps
From this reading “Then he strode forward, dragging after him the four swans.”
plural of “swan” — stately heavy-bodied aquatic bird with very long neck and usually white plumage as adult
From this reading “Then he strode forward, dragging after him the four swans.”
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 “All stood silent, appalled.”
temporarily
In this reading “For a moment Lairgnen quailed.”
In this reading “The angry voice of a cleric was a perilous omen in those days.”
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 For a moment Lairgnen quailed.
later than; following
From this reading Then he strode forward, dragging after him the four swans.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading All stood silent, appalled.
feeling or showing anger
From this reading The angry voice of a cleric was a perilous omen in those days.
struck with fear, dread, or consternation
From this reading All stood silent, appalled.
one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship
From this reading Suddenly a wild, strange cry resounded over the church.
a clergyman or other person in religious orders
From this reading The angry voice of a cleric was a perilous omen in those days.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading Suddenly a wild, strange cry resounded over the church.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading The angry voice of a cleric was a perilous omen in those days.
marked by a painfully slow and effortful manner
From this reading Then he strode forward, dragging after him the four swans.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For a moment Lairgnen quailed.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading Then he strode forward, dragging after him the four swans.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading Then he strode forward, dragging after him the four swans.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then he strode forward, dragging after him the four swans.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Then he strode forward, dragging after him the four swans.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The angry voice of a cleric was a perilous omen in those days.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading For a moment Lairgnen quailed.
a particular point in time
From this reading For a moment Lairgnen quailed.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The angry voice of a cleric was a perilous omen in those days.
a sign of something about to happen
From this reading The angry voice of a cleric was a perilous omen in those days.
above and across; more than
From this reading Suddenly a wild, strange cry resounded over the church.
fraught with danger
From this reading The angry voice of a cleric was a perilous omen in those days.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading For a moment Lairgnen quailed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Suddenly a wild, strange cry resounded over the church.
marked by absence of sound
From this reading All stood silent, appalled.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading All stood silent, appalled.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading Suddenly a wild, strange cry resounded over the church.
inflected form of “stride” — walk with long steps
From this reading Then he strode forward, dragging after him the four swans.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading Suddenly a wild, strange cry resounded over the church.
plural of “swan” — stately heavy-bodied aquatic bird with very long neck and usually white plumage as adult
From this reading Then he strode forward, dragging after him the four swans.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The angry voice of a cleric was a perilous omen in those days.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he strode forward, dragging after him the four swans.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading The angry voice of a cleric was a perilous omen in those days.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading The angry voice of a cleric was a perilous omen in those days.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The angry voice of a cleric was a perilous omen in those days.
marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
From this reading Suddenly a wild, strange cry resounded over the church.
Chapter 3 of The Laughter of Peterkin by William Sharp holds 446 sentences, grouped into 90 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 446 sentences of The Laughter of Peterkin, unabridged, divided into 90 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Laughter of Peterkin by William Sharp exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 446 sentences, grouped into 90 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 90 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 90 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 Laughter of Peterkin by William Sharp on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2599 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50292 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50292, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 216 minutes of reading across 520 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Laughter of Peterkin section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Laughter of Peterkin 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 Laughter of Peterkin, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
