Chapter 1 of The Lost Word: A Christmas Legend of Long Ago is here in full — 612 sentences across 123 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Lost Word: A Christmas Legend of Long Ago is here in full — 612 sentences across 123 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A Christmas Legend of Long Ago "COME down, Hermas, come down! The night is past. It is time to be stirring. Christ is born to-day. Peace be with you in His name.
Chapter 1 of The Lost Word: A Christmas Legend of Long Ago is here in full — 612 sentences across 123 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/122 · 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.
in the past
From this reading “A Christmas Legend of Long Ago "COME down, Hermas, come down!”
brought into existence
From this reading “Christ is born to-day.”
a teacher and prophet born in Bethlehem and active in Nazareth; his life and sermons form the basis for Christianity (circa 4 BC - AD 29)
From this reading “Christ is born to-day.”
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading “A Christmas Legend of Long Ago "COME down, Hermas, come down!”
a story about mythical or supernatural beings or events
From this reading “A Christmas Legend of Long Ago "COME down, Hermas, come down!”
the time that has elapsed
From this reading “The night is past.”
the state prevailing during the absence of war
From this reading “Peace be with you in His name.”
agitating a liquid with an implement
From this reading “It is time to be stirring.”
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 Christmas Legend of Long Ago "COME down, Hermas, come down!
in the past
From this reading A Christmas Legend of Long Ago "COME down, Hermas, come down!
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It is time to be stirring.
brought into existence
From this reading Christ is born to-day.
a teacher and prophet born in Bethlehem and active in Nazareth; his life and sermons form the basis for Christianity (circa 4 BC - AD 29)
From this reading Christ is born to-day.
period extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6
From this reading A Christmas Legend of Long Ago "COME down, Hermas, come down!
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading A Christmas Legend of Long Ago "COME down, Hermas, come down!
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading A Christmas Legend of Long Ago "COME down, Hermas, come down!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A Christmas Legend of Long Ago "COME down, Hermas, come down!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Peace be with you in His name.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Peace be with you in His name.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The night is past.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It is time to be stirring.
a story about mythical or supernatural beings or events
From this reading A Christmas Legend of Long Ago "COME down, Hermas, come down!
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading A Christmas Legend of Long Ago "COME down, Hermas, come down!
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Peace be with you in His name.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading The night is past.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A Christmas Legend of Long Ago "COME down, Hermas, come down!
the time that has elapsed
From this reading The night is past.
the state prevailing during the absence of war
From this reading Peace be with you in His name.
agitating a liquid with an implement
From this reading It is time to be stirring.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The night is past.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading It is time to be stirring.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It is time to be stirring.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Christ is born to-day.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Peace be with you in His name.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Peace be with you in His name.
Chapter 1 of The Lost Word: A Christmas Legend of Long Ago by Henry Van Dyke holds 612 sentences, grouped into 123 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 612 sentences of The Lost Word: A Christmas Legend of Long Ago, unabridged, divided into 123 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Lost Word: A Christmas Legend of Long Ago by Henry Van Dyke exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 612 sentences, grouped into 123 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 123 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 123 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 Lost Word: A Christmas Legend of Long Ago by Henry Van Dyke on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 612 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4384 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4384, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 51 minutes of reading across 123 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Lost Word: A Christmas Legend of Long Ago section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Lost Word: A Christmas Legend of Long Ago 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 Lost Word: A Christmas Legend of Long Ago, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
