Chapter 4 of The Mother is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Mother is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She sank against his broad breast; and there she lay helpless--bitterly sobbing. "Don't cry, Millie!" he whispered. Still she sobbed. "Oh, don't cry, girl!" he repeated, tenderly. "It's all right.
Chapter 4 of The Mother is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
with bitterness; in a resentful manner
From this reading “She sank against his broad breast; and there she lay helpless--bitterly sobbing.”
the front of the trunk from the neck to the abdomen
From this reading “She sank against his broad breast; and there she lay helpless--bitterly sobbing.”
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading “She sank against his broad breast; and there she lay helpless--bitterly sobbing.”
lacking in or deprived of strength or power
From this reading “She sank against his broad breast; and there she lay helpless--bitterly sobbing.”
inflected form of “sink” — fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading “She sank against his broad breast; and there she lay helpless--bitterly sobbing.”
inflected form of “sob” — weep convulsively
From this reading “Still she sobbed.”
convulsive gasp made while weeping
From this reading “She sank against his broad breast; and there she lay helpless--bitterly sobbing.”
with tenderness; in a tender manner
From this reading “"Oh, don't cry, girl!" he repeated, tenderly.”
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.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading She sank against his broad breast; and there she lay helpless--bitterly sobbing.
(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 "It's all right.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She sank against his broad breast; and there she lay helpless--bitterly sobbing.
with bitterness; in a resentful manner
From this reading She sank against his broad breast; and there she lay helpless--bitterly sobbing.
the front of the trunk from the neck to the abdomen
From this reading She sank against his broad breast; and there she lay helpless--bitterly sobbing.
having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
From this reading She sank against his broad breast; and there she lay helpless--bitterly sobbing.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "Don't cry, Millie!" he whispered.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Don't cry, Millie!" he whispered.
a young female
From this reading "Oh, don't cry, girl!" he repeated, tenderly.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Don't cry, Millie!" he whispered.
lacking in or deprived of strength or power
From this reading She sank against his broad breast; and there she lay helpless--bitterly sobbing.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading She sank against his broad breast; and there she lay helpless--bitterly sobbing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's all right.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading She sank against his broad breast; and there she lay helpless--bitterly sobbing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Don't cry, Millie!" he whispered.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading "Oh, don't cry, girl!" he repeated, tenderly.
recurring again and again
From this reading "Oh, don't cry, girl!" he repeated, tenderly.
precisely, exactly
From this reading "It's all right.
inflected form of “sink” — fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading She sank against his broad breast; and there she lay helpless--bitterly sobbing.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She sank against his broad breast; and there she lay helpless--bitterly sobbing.
inflected form of “sob” — weep convulsively
From this reading Still she sobbed.
convulsive gasp made while weeping
From this reading She sank against his broad breast; and there she lay helpless--bitterly sobbing.
not in physical motion
From this reading Still she sobbed.
with tenderness; in a tender manner
From this reading "Oh, don't cry, girl!" he repeated, tenderly.
in or at that place or location
From this reading She sank against his broad breast; and there she lay helpless--bitterly sobbing.
spoken in soft hushed tones without vibrations of the vocal cords
From this reading "Don't cry, Millie!" he whispered.
Chapter 4 of The Mother by Norman Duncan holds 418 sentences, grouped into 84 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 4 holds 418 sentences of The Mother, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Mother by Norman Duncan exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 418 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 4 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 Mother by Norman Duncan on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2145 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #27550 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #27550, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 178 minutes of reading across 429 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Mother section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Mother 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 Mother, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
