Chapter 2 of The Old Pincushion is here in full — 224 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Old Pincushion is here in full — 224 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out. 'Oh, Kathie!' she said anxiously, 'do be quick if you're not ready for dinner. The bell's just going to ring. Have you washed your hands? No?
Chapter 2 of The Old Pincushion is here in full — 224 sentences across 45 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/44 · 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 anxiety or apprehension
From this reading “'Oh, Kathie!' she said anxiously, 'do be quick if you're not ready for dinner.”
possessive form of “bell” — a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading “The bell's just going to ring.”
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading “'Oh, Kathie!' she said anxiously, 'do be quick if you're not ready for dinner.”
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out.”
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading “'Oh, Kathie!' she said anxiously, 'do be quick if you're not ready for dinner.”
sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading “The bell's just going to ring.”
a room in a school where lessons take place
From this reading “PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out.”
clean by virtue of having been washed in water
From this reading “Have you washed your hands?”
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 “PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out.”
In this reading “'Oh, Kathie!' she said anxiously, 'do be quick if you're not ready for dinner.”
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 PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out.
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading 'Oh, Kathie!' she said anxiously, 'do be quick if you're not ready for dinner.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading 'Oh, Kathie!' she said anxiously, 'do be quick if you're not ready for dinner.
possessive form of “bell” — a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading The bell's just going to ring.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out.
the main meal of the day served in the evening or at midday
From this reading 'Oh, Kathie!' she said anxiously, 'do be quick if you're not ready for dinner.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading 'Oh, Kathie!' she said anxiously, 'do be quick if you're not ready for dinner.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out.
favorite
From this reading PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading 'Oh, Kathie!' she said anxiously, 'do be quick if you're not ready for dinner.
a young female
From this reading PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out.
the act of departing
From this reading The bell's just going to ring.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Have you washed your hands?
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Have you washed your hands?
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading 'Oh, Kathie!' she said anxiously, 'do be quick if you're not ready for dinner.
and nothing more
From this reading PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Oh, Kathie!' she said anxiously, 'do be quick if you're not ready for dinner.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out.
not any; not one
From this reading No?
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading 'Oh, Kathie!' she said anxiously, 'do be quick if you're not ready for dinner.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading 'Oh, Kathie!' she said anxiously, 'do be quick if you're not ready for dinner.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out.
having a pale face
From this reading PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out.
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading 'Oh, Kathie!' she said anxiously, 'do be quick if you're not ready for dinner.
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading 'Oh, Kathie!' she said anxiously, 'do be quick if you're not ready for dinner.
sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading The bell's just going to ring.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading 'Oh, Kathie!' she said anxiously, 'do be quick if you're not ready for dinner.
a room in a school where lessons take place
From this reading PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading 'Oh, Kathie!' she said anxiously, 'do be quick if you're not ready for dinner.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The bell's just going to ring.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out.
clean by virtue of having been washed in water
From this reading Have you washed your hands?
which person or people
From this reading PHILIPPA'S IDEA. athleen was met at the schoolroom door by a little, pale-faced, fair-haired girl, who was just coming out.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Have you washed your hands?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Oh, Kathie!' she said anxiously, 'do be quick if you're not ready for dinner.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Have you washed your hands?
Chapter 2 of The Old Pincushion by Mrs. Molesworth holds 224 sentences, grouped into 45 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 2 holds 224 sentences of The Old Pincushion, unabridged, divided into 45 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Old Pincushion by Mrs. Molesworth exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 224 sentences, grouped into 45 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 45 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 45 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 2 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 Old Pincushion by Mrs. Molesworth on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2446 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #39833 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #39833, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 203 minutes of reading across 490 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Old Pincushion section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of The Old Pincushion 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 Old Pincushion, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
