Chapter 1 of The Play-day Book is here in full — 301 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Play-day Book is here in full — 301 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE PLAY-DAY BOOK: NEW STORIES FOR LITTLE FOLKS. BY FANNY FERN. ILLUSTRATED BY FRED. M. COFFIN. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MASON BROTHERS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Chapter 1 of The Play-day Book is here in full — 301 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/60 · 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.
possessive form of “clerk” — an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
box in which a corpse is buried or cremated
From this reading “M. COFFIN.”
the legislature of the United States government
From this reading “Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MASON BROTHERS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.”
a region marked off for administrative or other purposes
From this reading “Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MASON BROTHERS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.”
the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
From this reading “BY FANNY FERN.”
any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores
From this reading “BY FANNY FERN.”
past form of “illustrate” — clarify by giving an example of
From this reading “ILLUSTRATED BY FRED.”
American Revolutionary leader from Virginia whose objections led to the drafting of the Bill of Rights (1725-1792)
From this reading “Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MASON BROTHERS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.”
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 “ILLUSTRATED BY FRED.”
In this reading “Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MASON BROTHERS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MASON BROTHERS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
(followed by “to”) in agreement with or accordant with
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MASON BROTHERS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MASON BROTHERS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading THE PLAY-DAY BOOK: NEW STORIES FOR LITTLE FOLKS.
plural of “brother” — a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MASON BROTHERS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading BY FANNY FERN.
possessive form of “clerk” — an employee who performs clerical work (e.g., keeps records or accounts)
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MASON BROTHERS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
box in which a corpse is buried or cremated
From this reading M. COFFIN.
the legislature of the United States government
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MASON BROTHERS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MASON BROTHERS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
a region marked off for administrative or other purposes
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MASON BROTHERS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
past form of “enter” — to come or go into
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MASON BROTHERS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
From this reading BY FANNY FERN.
any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores
From this reading BY FANNY FERN.
your parents
From this reading THE PLAY-DAY BOOK: NEW STORIES FOR LITTLE FOLKS.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading THE PLAY-DAY BOOK: NEW STORIES FOR LITTLE FOLKS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ILLUSTRATED BY FRED.
past form of “illustrate” — clarify by giving an example of
From this reading ILLUSTRATED BY FRED.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MASON BROTHERS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading THE PLAY-DAY BOOK: NEW STORIES FOR LITTLE FOLKS.
the basic unit of length adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites (approximately 1.094 yards)
From this reading M. COFFIN.
American Revolutionary leader from Virginia whose objections led to the drafting of the Bill of Rights (1725-1792)
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MASON BROTHERS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading THE PLAY-DAY BOOK: NEW STORIES FOR LITTLE FOLKS.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MASON BROTHERS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MASON BROTHERS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE PLAY-DAY BOOK: NEW STORIES FOR LITTLE FOLKS.
in or characteristic of a region of the United States south of (approximately) the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MASON BROTHERS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
plural of “story” — a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading THE PLAY-DAY BOOK: NEW STORIES FOR LITTLE FOLKS.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE PLAY-DAY BOOK: NEW STORIES FOR LITTLE FOLKS.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MASON BROTHERS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
a period of time containing 365 (or 366) days
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MASON BROTHERS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MASON BROTHERS, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Chapter 1 of The Play-day Book by Fanny Fern holds 301 sentences, grouped into 61 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 1 holds 301 sentences of The Play-day Book, unabridged, divided into 61 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Play-day Book by Fanny Fern exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 301 sentences, grouped into 61 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 61 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 61 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 1 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 Play-day Book by Fanny Fern 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 Play-day Book section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Play-day Book 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 Play-day Book, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
