Chapter 3 of The Old Wives' Tale is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Old Wives' Tale is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ELEPHANT I "Sophia, will you come and see the elephant? Do come!" Constance entered the drawing-room with this request on her eager lips. "No," said Sophia, with a touch of condescension. "I'm far too busy for elephants."
Chapter 3 of The Old Wives' Tale is here in full — 397 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading “"I'm far too busy for elephants."”
the trait of displaying arrogance by patronizing those considered inferior
From this reading “"No," said Sophia, with a touch of condescension.”
a lake in southeastern Germany on the northern side of the Swiss Alps; forms part of the Rhine River
From this reading “Constance entered the drawing-room with this request on her eager lips.”
having or showing keen interest or intense desire or impatient expectancy
From this reading “Constance entered the drawing-room with this request on her eager lips.”
five-toed pachyderm
From this reading “ELEPHANT I "Sophia, will you come and see the elephant?”
plural of “elephant” — five-toed pachyderm
From this reading “"I'm far too busy for elephants."”
express the need or desire for
From this reading “Constance entered the drawing-room with this request on her eager lips.”
make physical contact with, come in contact with
From this reading “"No," said Sophia, with a touch of condescension.”
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 "No," said Sophia, with a touch of condescension.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading ELEPHANT I "Sophia, will you come and see the elephant?
actively or fully engaged or occupied
From this reading "I'm far too busy for elephants."
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading ELEPHANT I "Sophia, will you come and see the elephant?
the trait of displaying arrogance by patronizing those considered inferior
From this reading "No," said Sophia, with a touch of condescension.
a lake in southeastern Germany on the northern side of the Swiss Alps; forms part of the Rhine River
From this reading Constance entered the drawing-room with this request on her eager lips.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Do come!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Constance entered the drawing-room with this request on her eager lips.
having or showing keen interest or intense desire or impatient expectancy
From this reading Constance entered the drawing-room with this request on her eager lips.
five-toed pachyderm
From this reading ELEPHANT I "Sophia, will you come and see the elephant?
plural of “elephant” — five-toed pachyderm
From this reading "I'm far too busy for elephants."
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Constance entered the drawing-room with this request on her eager lips.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading "I'm far too busy for elephants."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "I'm far too busy for elephants."
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Constance entered the drawing-room with this request on her eager lips.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ELEPHANT I "Sophia, will you come and see the elephant?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm far too busy for elephants."
plural of “lip” — either of two fleshy folds of tissue that surround the mouth and play a role in speaking
From this reading Constance entered the drawing-room with this request on her eager lips.
not any; not one
From this reading "No," said Sophia, with a touch of condescension.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "No," said Sophia, with a touch of condescension.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Constance entered the drawing-room with this request on her eager lips.
express the need or desire for
From this reading Constance entered the drawing-room with this request on her eager lips.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "No," said Sophia, with a touch of condescension.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading ELEPHANT I "Sophia, will you come and see the elephant?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ELEPHANT I "Sophia, will you come and see the elephant?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ELEPHANT I "Sophia, will you come and see the elephant?
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Constance entered the drawing-room with this request on her eager lips.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading "I'm far too busy for elephants."
make physical contact with, come in contact with
From this reading "No," said Sophia, with a touch of condescension.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading ELEPHANT I "Sophia, will you come and see the elephant?
in the company of; together with
From this reading Constance entered the drawing-room with this request on her eager lips.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ELEPHANT I "Sophia, will you come and see the elephant?
Chapter 3 of The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett holds 397 sentences, grouped into 80 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 3 holds 397 sentences of The Old Wives' Tale, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Old Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 397 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 3 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 Wives' Tale by Arnold Bennett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 15110 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5247 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5247, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 3022 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Old Wives' Tale section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 26 chapters of The Old Wives' 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 Old Wives' Tale, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
