Chapter 11 of The Princess and Curdie is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of The Princess and Curdie is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Lina It was Lina. All at once Curdie recognized her--the frightful creature he had seen at the princess's. He dropped his pickaxes and held out his hand. She crept nearer and nearer, and laid her chin in his palm, and he patted her ugly head. Then she crept away behind the tree, and lay down, panting hard.
Chapter 11 of The Princess and Curdie is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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 protruding part of the lower jaw
From this reading “She crept nearer and nearer, and laid her chin in his palm, and he patted her ugly head.”
inflected form of “creep” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading “She crept nearer and nearer, and laid her chin in his palm, and he patted her ugly head.”
provoking horror
From this reading “All at once Curdie recognized her--the frightful creature he had seen at the princess's.”
the inner surface of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers
From this reading “She crept nearer and nearer, and laid her chin in his palm, and he patted her ugly head.”
breathing heavily (as after exertion)
From this reading “Then she crept away behind the tree, and lay down, panting hard.”
inflected form of “pat” — pat or squeeze fondly or playfully, especially under the chin
From this reading “She crept nearer and nearer, and laid her chin in his palm, and he patted her ugly head.”
possessive form of “princess” — a female member of a royal family other than the queen (especially the daughter of a sovereign)
From this reading “All at once Curdie recognized her--the frightful creature he had seen at the princess's.”
displeasing to the senses
From this reading “She crept nearer and nearer, and laid her chin in his palm, and he patted her ugly head.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading All at once Curdie recognized her--the frightful creature he had seen at the princess's.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He dropped his pickaxes and held out his hand.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading All at once Curdie recognized her--the frightful creature he had seen at the princess's.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Then she crept away behind the tree, and lay down, panting hard.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading Then she crept away behind the tree, and lay down, panting hard.
the protruding part of the lower jaw
From this reading She crept nearer and nearer, and laid her chin in his palm, and he patted her ugly head.
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading All at once Curdie recognized her--the frightful creature he had seen at the princess's.
inflected form of “creep” — move slowly; in the case of people or animals with the body near the ground
From this reading She crept nearer and nearer, and laid her chin in his palm, and he patted her ugly head.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading All at once Curdie recognized her--the frightful creature he had seen at the princess's.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Then she crept away behind the tree, and lay down, panting hard.
inflected form of “drop” — let fall to the ground
From this reading He dropped his pickaxes and held out his hand.
provoking horror
From this reading All at once Curdie recognized her--the frightful creature he had seen at the princess's.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading All at once Curdie recognized her--the frightful creature he had seen at the princess's.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading He dropped his pickaxes and held out his hand.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading Then she crept away behind the tree, and lay down, panting hard.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading All at once Curdie recognized her--the frightful creature he had seen at the princess's.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading She crept nearer and nearer, and laid her chin in his palm, and he patted her ugly head.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading He dropped his pickaxes and held out his hand.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading All at once Curdie recognized her--the frightful creature he had seen at the princess's.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He dropped his pickaxes and held out his hand.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She crept nearer and nearer, and laid her chin in his palm, and he patted her ugly head.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Lina It was Lina.
set down according to a plan
From this reading She crept nearer and nearer, and laid her chin in his palm, and he patted her ugly head.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Then she crept away behind the tree, and lay down, panting hard.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lina It was Lina.
(comparative of “near” or “close”) within a shorter distance
From this reading She crept nearer and nearer, and laid her chin in his palm, and he patted her ugly head.
on one occasion
From this reading All at once Curdie recognized her--the frightful creature he had seen at the princess's.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He dropped his pickaxes and held out his hand.
the inner surface of the hand from the wrist to the base of the fingers
From this reading She crept nearer and nearer, and laid her chin in his palm, and he patted her ugly head.
breathing heavily (as after exertion)
From this reading Then she crept away behind the tree, and lay down, panting hard.
inflected form of “pat” — pat or squeeze fondly or playfully, especially under the chin
From this reading She crept nearer and nearer, and laid her chin in his palm, and he patted her ugly head.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He dropped his pickaxes and held out his hand.
possessive form of “princess” — a female member of a royal family other than the queen (especially the daughter of a sovereign)
From this reading All at once Curdie recognized her--the frightful creature he had seen at the princess's.
generally approved or compelling recognition
From this reading All at once Curdie recognized her--the frightful creature he had seen at the princess's.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading All at once Curdie recognized her--the frightful creature he had seen at the princess's.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She crept nearer and nearer, and laid her chin in his palm, and he patted her ugly head.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading All at once Curdie recognized her--the frightful creature he had seen at the princess's.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then she crept away behind the tree, and lay down, panting hard.
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading Then she crept away behind the tree, and lay down, panting hard.
displeasing to the senses
From this reading She crept nearer and nearer, and laid her chin in his palm, and he patted her ugly head.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Lina It was Lina.
Chapter 11 of The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald holds 77 sentences, grouped into 16 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 11 holds 77 sentences of The Princess and Curdie, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 77 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 11 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 Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2790 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #709 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #709, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 232 minutes of reading across 558 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Princess and Curdie section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of The Princess and Curdie 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 Princess and Curdie, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
