Chapter 4 of The Princess and the Goblin is here in full — 87 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Princess and the Goblin is here in full — 87 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms. 'It's very unkind of you to hide away so long. I began to be afraid--' Here she checked herself. 'What were you afraid of, nursie?' asked the princess. 'Never mind,' she answered.
Chapter 4 of The Princess and the Goblin is here in full — 87 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/17 · 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.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading “I began to be afraid--' Here she checked herself.”
weapons considered collectively
From this reading “What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms.”
patterned with alternating squares of color
From this reading “I began to be afraid--' Here she checked herself.”
prevent from being seen or discovered
From this reading “'It's very unkind of you to hide away so long.”
try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury
From this reading “What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms.”
The daughter of a monarch; a female member of a royal family.
From this reading “What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms.”
the act of someone who picks up or takes something
From this reading “What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms.”
lacking kindness
From this reading “'It's very unkind of you to hide away so long.”
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.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading I began to be afraid--' Here she checked herself.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading 'Never mind,' she answered.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading 'It's very unkind of you to hide away so long.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading I began to be afraid--' Here she checked herself.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading I began to be afraid--' Here she checked herself.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms.
patterned with alternating squares of color
From this reading I began to be afraid--' Here she checked herself.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading I began to be afraid--' Here she checked herself.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading I began to be afraid--' Here she checked herself.
prevent from being seen or discovered
From this reading 'It's very unkind of you to hide away so long.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I began to be afraid--' Here she checked herself.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'It's very unkind of you to hide away so long.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading 'It's very unkind of you to hide away so long.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading 'Never mind,' she answered.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading 'Never mind,' she answered.
try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury
From this reading What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'What were you afraid of, nursie?' asked the princess.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms.
The daughter of a monarch; a female member of a royal family.
From this reading What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I began to be afraid--' Here she checked herself.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading 'It's very unkind of you to hide away so long.
the act of someone who picks up or takes something
From this reading What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading 'It's very unkind of you to hide away so long.
lacking kindness
From this reading 'It's very unkind of you to hide away so long.
precisely as stated
From this reading 'It's very unkind of you to hide away so long.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading 'What were you afraid of, nursie?' asked the princess.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms.
in or at the place that
From this reading What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading What the Nurse Thought of It 'Why, where can you have been, princess?' asked the nurse, taking her in her arms.
Chapter 4 of The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald holds 87 sentences, grouped into 18 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 4 holds 87 sentences of The Princess and the Goblin, unabridged, divided into 18 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 87 sentences, grouped into 18 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 18 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 18 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 Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2974 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #708 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #708, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 247 minutes of reading across 595 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Princess and the Goblin section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 32 chapters of The Princess and the Goblin 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 the Goblin, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
