Chapter 4 of The Prairie Mother is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Prairie Mother is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Why couldn't we sell off some of the steers?" I valiantly suggested. "It's the wrong season for selling steers," Dinky-Dunk replied with a ponderous sort of patience. "And besides, those cattle don't belong to me." "Then whose are they?"
Chapter 4 of The Prairie Mother is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading “"And besides, those cattle don't belong to me."”
domesticated bovine animals as a group regardless of sex or age
From this reading “"And besides, those cattle don't belong to me."”
good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence
From this reading “"It's the wrong season for selling steers," Dinky-Dunk replied with a ponderous sort of patience.”
slow and laborious because of weight
From this reading “"It's the wrong season for selling steers," Dinky-Dunk replied with a ponderous sort of patience.”
exchange or deliver for money or its equivalent
From this reading “"Why couldn't we sell off some of the steers?"”
the exchange of goods for an agreed sum of money
From this reading “"It's the wrong season for selling steers," Dinky-Dunk replied with a ponderous sort of patience.”
plural of “steer” — an indication of potential opportunity
From this reading “"Why couldn't we sell off some of the steers?"”
with valor; in a valiant manner
From this reading “I valiantly suggested.”
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 "It's the wrong season for selling steers," Dinky-Dunk replied with a ponderous sort of patience.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "And besides, those cattle don't belong to me."
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Then whose are they?"
be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading "And besides, those cattle don't belong to me."
in addition to; as well as
From this reading "And besides, those cattle don't belong to me."
domesticated bovine animals as a group regardless of sex or age
From this reading "And besides, those cattle don't belong to me."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Why couldn't we sell off some of the steers?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's the wrong season for selling steers," Dinky-Dunk replied with a ponderous sort of patience.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "And besides, those cattle don't belong to me."
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "It's the wrong season for selling steers," Dinky-Dunk replied with a ponderous sort of patience.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I valiantly suggested.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "It's the wrong season for selling steers," Dinky-Dunk replied with a ponderous sort of patience.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading "And besides, those cattle don't belong to me."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Why couldn't we sell off some of the steers?"
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading "Why couldn't we sell off some of the steers?"
good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence
From this reading "It's the wrong season for selling steers," Dinky-Dunk replied with a ponderous sort of patience.
slow and laborious because of weight
From this reading "It's the wrong season for selling steers," Dinky-Dunk replied with a ponderous sort of patience.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading "It's the wrong season for selling steers," Dinky-Dunk replied with a ponderous sort of patience.
a period of the year marked by special events or activities in some field
From this reading "It's the wrong season for selling steers," Dinky-Dunk replied with a ponderous sort of patience.
exchange or deliver for money or its equivalent
From this reading "Why couldn't we sell off some of the steers?"
the exchange of goods for an agreed sum of money
From this reading "It's the wrong season for selling steers," Dinky-Dunk replied with a ponderous sort of patience.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "Why couldn't we sell off some of the steers?"
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading "It's the wrong season for selling steers," Dinky-Dunk replied with a ponderous sort of patience.
plural of “steer” — an indication of potential opportunity
From this reading "Why couldn't we sell off some of the steers?"
past form of “suggest” — make a proposal, declare a plan for something
From this reading I valiantly suggested.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Why couldn't we sell off some of the steers?"
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading "Then whose are they?"
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Then whose are they?"
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading "And besides, those cattle don't belong to me."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "And besides, those cattle don't belong to me."
with valor; in a valiant manner
From this reading I valiantly suggested.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading "Why couldn't we sell off some of the steers?"
belonging to which person
From this reading "Then whose are they?"
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "Why couldn't we sell off some of the steers?"
in the company of; together with
From this reading "It's the wrong season for selling steers," Dinky-Dunk replied with a ponderous sort of patience.
not correct; not in conformity with fact or truth
From this reading "It's the wrong season for selling steers," Dinky-Dunk replied with a ponderous sort of patience.
Chapter 4 of The Prairie Mother by Arthur Stringer holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 4 holds 410 sentences of The Prairie Mother, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Prairie Mother by Arthur Stringer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 4 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 Prairie Mother by Arthur Stringer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4043 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #26011 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #26011, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 336 minutes of reading across 809 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Prairie Mother section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Prairie Mother 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 Prairie Mother, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
