Chapter 2 of The Old Willow Tree, and Other Stories is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 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 Willow Tree, and Other Stories is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Willow-Tree!... Are you asleep?" "I can't sleep," said the willow-tree. "It's rumbling and gnawing and trickling and seething inside me. I can feel it coming lower and lower.
Chapter 2 of The Old Willow Tree, and Other Stories is here in full — 422 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 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 a state of sleep
From this reading “Are you asleep?"”
-ing form of “gnaw” — bite or chew on with the teeth
From this reading “"It's rumbling and gnawing and trickling and seething inside me.”
relating to or being on the side closer to the center or within a defined space
From this reading “"It's rumbling and gnawing and trickling and seething inside me.”
move something or somebody to a lower position
From this reading “I can feel it coming lower and lower.”
a loud low dull continuous noise
From this reading “"It's rumbling and gnawing and trickling and seething inside me.”
in constant agitation
From this reading “"It's rumbling and gnawing and trickling and seething inside me.”
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading “"I can't sleep," said the willow-tree.”
-ing form of “trickle” — run or flow slowly, as in drops or in an unsteady stream
From this reading “"It's rumbling and gnawing and trickling and seething inside me.”
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.
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "It's rumbling and gnawing and trickling and seething inside me.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Are you asleep?"
in a state of sleep
From this reading Are you asleep?"
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading I can feel it coming lower and lower.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I can't sleep," said the willow-tree.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading I can feel it coming lower and lower.
undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind
From this reading I can feel it coming lower and lower.
-ing form of “gnaw” — bite or chew on with the teeth
From this reading "It's rumbling and gnawing and trickling and seething inside me.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I can't sleep," said the willow-tree.
relating to or being on the side closer to the center or within a defined space
From this reading "It's rumbling and gnawing and trickling and seething inside me.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I can feel it coming lower and lower.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's rumbling and gnawing and trickling and seething inside me.
move something or somebody to a lower position
From this reading I can feel it coming lower and lower.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "It's rumbling and gnawing and trickling and seething inside me.
a loud low dull continuous noise
From this reading "It's rumbling and gnawing and trickling and seething inside me.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "I can't sleep," said the willow-tree.
in constant agitation
From this reading "It's rumbling and gnawing and trickling and seething inside me.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading "I can't sleep," said the willow-tree.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "I can't sleep," said the willow-tree.
-ing form of “trickle” — run or flow slowly, as in drops or in an unsteady stream
From this reading "It's rumbling and gnawing and trickling and seething inside me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Willow-Tree!...
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Are you asleep?"
Chapter 2 of The Old Willow Tree, and Other Stories by Carl Ewald holds 422 sentences, grouped into 85 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 422 sentences of The Old Willow Tree, and Other Stories, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Old Willow Tree, and Other Stories by Carl Ewald exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 422 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 Willow Tree, and Other Stories by Carl Ewald on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2504 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31167 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31167, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 208 minutes of reading across 501 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Old Willow Tree, and Other Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Old Willow Tree, and Other Stories 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 Willow Tree, and Other Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
