Chapter 2 of The Play-day Book is here in full — 32 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Play-day Book is here in full — 32 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Did you ever go a journey with your mother? No? Little Nelly did; it was great fun for her to see her mother pack the trunk. She had no idea before how much may be got into a trunk by squeezing. She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.
Chapter 2 of The Play-day Book is here in full — 32 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/6 · 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.
the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one
From this reading “She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.”
activities that are enjoyable or amusing
From this reading “Little Nelly did; it was great fun for her to see her mother pack the trunk.”
in a joyous manner
From this reading “She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.”
arrange in a container
From this reading “Little Nelly did; it was great fun for her to see her mother pack the trunk.”
past form of “pile” — arrange in stacks
From this reading “She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.”
compacted by ironing
From this reading “She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.”
the act of gripping and pressing firmly
From this reading “She had no idea before how much may be got into a trunk by squeezing.”
the main stem of a tree; usually covered with bark; the bole is usually the part that is commercially useful for lumber
From this reading “Little Nelly did; it was great fun for her to see her mother pack the trunk.”
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 “She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.”
In this reading “Little Nelly did; it was great fun for her to see her mother pack the trunk.”
In this reading “She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.”
get involved in or with
In this reading “She had no idea before how much may be got into a trunk by squeezing.”
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 Did you ever go a journey with your mother?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading She had no idea before how much may be got into a trunk by squeezing.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading She had no idea before how much may be got into a trunk by squeezing.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading She had no idea before how much may be got into a trunk by squeezing.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Did you ever go a journey with your mother?
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.
the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one
From this reading She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.
at any time
From this reading Did you ever go a journey with your mother?
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Little Nelly did; it was great fun for her to see her mother pack the trunk.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.
activities that are enjoyable or amusing
From this reading Little Nelly did; it was great fun for her to see her mother pack the trunk.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Did you ever go a journey with your mother?
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading She had no idea before how much may be got into a trunk by squeezing.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Little Nelly did; it was great fun for her to see her mother pack the trunk.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading She had no idea before how much may be got into a trunk by squeezing.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Little Nelly did; it was great fun for her to see her mother pack the trunk.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She had no idea before how much may be got into a trunk by squeezing.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading She had no idea before how much may be got into a trunk by squeezing.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading She had no idea before how much may be got into a trunk by squeezing.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Little Nelly did; it was great fun for her to see her mother pack the trunk.
undertake a journey or trip
From this reading Did you ever go a journey with your mother?
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Little Nelly did; it was great fun for her to see her mother pack the trunk.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading She had no idea before how much may be got into a trunk by squeezing.
in a joyous manner
From this reading She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Did you ever go a journey with your mother?
to a great degree or extent
From this reading She had no idea before how much may be got into a trunk by squeezing.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Little Nelly did; it was great fun for her to see her mother pack the trunk.
not any; not one
From this reading No?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.
arrange in a container
From this reading Little Nelly did; it was great fun for her to see her mother pack the trunk.
past form of “pile” — arrange in stacks
From this reading She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.
compacted by ironing
From this reading She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Little Nelly did; it was great fun for her to see her mother pack the trunk.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She had no idea before how much may be got into a trunk by squeezing.
the act of gripping and pressing firmly
From this reading She had no idea before how much may be got into a trunk by squeezing.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Little Nelly did; it was great fun for her to see her mother pack the trunk.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Little Nelly did; it was great fun for her to see her mother pack the trunk.
the upper part of anything
From this reading She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.
the main stem of a tree; usually covered with bark; the bole is usually the part that is commercially useful for lumber
From this reading Little Nelly did; it was great fun for her to see her mother pack the trunk.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Little Nelly did; it was great fun for her to see her mother pack the trunk.
at the time that
From this reading She thought it full half a dozen times, and laughed merrily when her mother pressed down the things with her hands, and piled as many more on top of them.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Did you ever go a journey with your mother?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Did you ever go a journey with your mother?
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Did you ever go a journey with your mother?
Chapter 2 of The Play-day Book by Fanny Fern holds 32 sentences, grouped into 7 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 32 sentences of The Play-day Book, unabridged, divided into 7 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Play-day Book by Fanny Fern exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 32 sentences, grouped into 7 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 7 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 7 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 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.
