Chapter 1 of The Light in the Clearing is here in full — 443 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Light in the Clearing is here in full — 443 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Once upon a time I owned a watermelon. I say once because I never did it again. When I got through owning that melon I never wanted another. The time was 1831; I was a boy of seven and the melon was the first of all my harvests. Every night and morning I watered and felt and surveyed my watermelon.
Chapter 1 of The Light in the Clearing is here in full — 443 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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.
plural of “harvest” — the yield from plants in a single growing season
From this reading “The time was 1831; I was a boy of seven and the melon was the first of all my harvests.”
any of numerous fruits of the gourd family having a hard rind and sweet juicy flesh
From this reading “When I got through owning that melon I never wanted another.”
having an owner; often used in combination
From this reading “Once upon a time I owned a watermelon.”
-ing form of “own” — have ownership or possession of
From this reading “When I got through owning that melon I never wanted another.”
the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
From this reading “The time was 1831; I was a boy of seven and the melon was the first of all my harvests.”
past form of “survey” — consider in a comprehensive way
From this reading “Every night and morning I watered and felt and surveyed my watermelon.”
(of silk fabric) having a wavelike pattern
From this reading “Every night and morning I watered and felt and surveyed my watermelon.”
an African melon
From this reading “Once upon a time I owned a watermelon.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The time was 1831; I was a boy of seven and the melon was the first of all my harvests.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Once upon a time I owned a watermelon.
anew
From this reading I say once because I never did it again.
(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 The time was 1831; I was a boy of seven and the melon was the first of all my harvests.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The time was 1831; I was a boy of seven and the melon was the first of all my harvests.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading When I got through owning that melon I never wanted another.
for the reason that
From this reading I say once because I never did it again.
a youthful male person
From this reading The time was 1831; I was a boy of seven and the melon was the first of all my harvests.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading I say once because I never did it again.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Every night and morning I watered and felt and surveyed my watermelon.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading Every night and morning I watered and felt and surveyed my watermelon.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading The time was 1831; I was a boy of seven and the melon was the first of all my harvests.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading When I got through owning that melon I never wanted another.
plural of “harvest” — the yield from plants in a single growing season
From this reading The time was 1831; I was a boy of seven and the melon was the first of all my harvests.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Once upon a time I owned a watermelon.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I say once because I never did it again.
any of numerous fruits of the gourd family having a hard rind and sweet juicy flesh
From this reading When I got through owning that melon I never wanted another.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading Every night and morning I watered and felt and surveyed my watermelon.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading The time was 1831; I was a boy of seven and the melon was the first of all my harvests.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading I say once because I never did it again.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Every night and morning I watered and felt and surveyed my watermelon.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The time was 1831; I was a boy of seven and the melon was the first of all my harvests.
on one occasion
From this reading Once upon a time I owned a watermelon.
having an owner; often used in combination
From this reading Once upon a time I owned a watermelon.
-ing form of “own” — have ownership or possession of
From this reading When I got through owning that melon I never wanted another.
express in words
From this reading I say once because I never did it again.
the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
From this reading The time was 1831; I was a boy of seven and the melon was the first of all my harvests.
past form of “survey” — consider in a comprehensive way
From this reading Every night and morning I watered and felt and surveyed my watermelon.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading When I got through owning that melon I never wanted another.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The time was 1831; I was a boy of seven and the melon was the first of all my harvests.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading When I got through owning that melon I never wanted another.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Once upon a time I owned a watermelon.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Once upon a time I owned a watermelon.
desired or wished for or sought
From this reading When I got through owning that melon I never wanted another.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The time was 1831; I was a boy of seven and the melon was the first of all my harvests.
(of silk fabric) having a wavelike pattern
From this reading Every night and morning I watered and felt and surveyed my watermelon.
an African melon
From this reading Once upon a time I owned a watermelon.
at the time that
From this reading When I got through owning that melon I never wanted another.
Chapter 1 of The Light in the Clearing by Irving Bacheller holds 443 sentences, grouped into 89 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 1 holds 443 sentences of The Light in the Clearing, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Light in the Clearing by Irving Bacheller exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 443 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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 1 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 Light in the Clearing by Irving Bacheller on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6019 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #14150 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #14150, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 501 minutes of reading across 1204 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Light in the Clearing section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of The Light in the Clearing 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 Light in the Clearing, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
