Chapter 12 of The Mermaid: A Love Tale is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Mermaid: A Love Tale is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE HAND THAT BECKONED. It was evening. Caius was watering his father's horses. Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough. House and barns were white; the house was large, but the barns were many times larger.
Chapter 12 of The Mermaid: A Love Tale is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/23 · 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 “barn” — an outlying farm building for storing grain or animal feed and housing farm animals
From this reading “Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.”
past form of “beckon” — signal with the hands or nod
From this reading “THE HAND THAT BECKONED.”
enclose with a fence
From this reading “Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.”
past form of “hollow” — remove the inner part or the core of
From this reading “Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.”
enter into a log, as on ships and planes
From this reading “Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.”
operate like a pump; move up and down, like a handle or a pedal
From this reading “Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.”
a narrow depression (as in the earth or between ocean waves or in the ocean bed)
From this reading “Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.”
shedding tears
From this reading “Caius was watering his father's horses.”
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 Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.
plural of “barn” — an outlying farm building for storing grain or animal feed and housing farm animals
From this reading Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.
past form of “beckon” — signal with the hands or nod
From this reading THE HAND THAT BECKONED.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading House and barns were white; the house was large, but the barns were many times larger.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Caius was watering his father's horses.
separated into parts or pieces
From this reading Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading It was evening.
possessive form of “father” — a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading Caius was watering his father's horses.
enclose with a fence
From this reading Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.
shoot down, of birds
From this reading Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading THE HAND THAT BECKONED.
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Caius was watering his father's horses.
past form of “hollow” — remove the inner part or the core of
From this reading Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.
plural of “horse” — solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading Caius was watering his father's horses.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.
unusually great in size or amount or degree or especially extent or scope
From this reading Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was evening.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading House and barns were white; the house was large, but the barns were many times larger.
large or big relative to something else
From this reading House and barns were white; the house was large, but the barns were many times larger.
enter into a log, as on ships and planes
From this reading Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading House and barns were white; the house was large, but the barns were many times larger.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.
operate like a pump; move up and down, like a handle or a pedal
From this reading Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.
the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
From this reading Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading THE HAND THAT BECKONED.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE HAND THAT BECKONED.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading House and barns were white; the house was large, but the barns were many times larger.
a narrow depression (as in the earth or between ocean waves or in the ocean bed)
From this reading Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was evening.
shedding tears
From this reading Caius was watering his father's horses.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading House and barns were white; the house was large, but the barns were many times larger.
a Caucasian
From this reading House and barns were white; the house was large, but the barns were many times larger.
made or consisting of (entirely or in part) or employing wood
From this reading Between the barns and the house the space was grass; a log fence divided it, and against this stood a huge wooden pump and a heavy log hollowed out for a trough.
Chapter 12 of The Mermaid: A Love Tale by L. (Lily) Dougall holds 119 sentences, grouped into 24 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 119 sentences of The Mermaid: A Love Tale, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Mermaid: A Love Tale by L. (Lily) Dougall exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 119 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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 Mermaid: A Love Tale by L. (Lily) Dougall on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Mermaid: A Love Tale section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Mermaid: A Love Tale 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 Mermaid: A Love Tale, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
