Chapter 9 of The Railway Children 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 IX
Chapter 9 of The Railway Children is here in full — 301 sentences across 61 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It was breakfast-time. Mother's face was very bright as she poured the milk and ladled out the porridge. “I've sold another story, Chickies,” she said; “the one about the King of the Mussels, so there'll be buns for tea. You can go and get them as soon as they're baked. About eleven, isn't it?”
Chapter 9 of The Railway Children 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.
dried out by heat or excessive exposure to sunlight
From this reading “You can go and get them as soon as they're baked.”
the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
From this reading ““I've sold another story, Chickies,” she said; “the one about the King of the Mussels, so there'll be buns for tea.”
being one more than ten
From this reading “About eleven, isn't it?””
past form of “ladle” — put (a liquid) into a container by means of a ladle
From this reading “Mother's face was very bright as she poured the milk and ladled out the porridge.”
a white nutritious liquid secreted by mammals and used as food by human beings
From this reading “Mother's face was very bright as she poured the milk and ladled out the porridge.”
plural of “mussel” — black marine bivalves usually steamed in wine
From this reading ““I've sold another story, Chickies,” she said; “the one about the King of the Mussels, so there'll be buns for tea.”
soft food made by boiling oatmeal or other meal or legumes in water or milk until thick
From this reading “Mother's face was very bright as she poured the milk and ladled out the porridge.”
past form of “pour” — cause to run
From this reading “Mother's face was very bright as she poured the milk and ladled out the porridge.”
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.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading “I've sold another story, Chickies,” she said; “the one about the King of the Mussels, so there'll be buns for tea.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mother's face was very bright as she poured the milk and ladled out the porridge.
one more of the same kind, or a different one
From this reading “I've sold another story, Chickies,” she said; “the one about the King of the Mussels, so there'll be buns for tea.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Mother's face was very bright as she poured the milk and ladled out the porridge.
dried out by heat or excessive exposure to sunlight
From this reading You can go and get them as soon as they're baked.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “I've sold another story, Chickies,” she said; “the one about the King of the Mussels, so there'll be buns for tea.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was breakfast-time.
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading Mother's face was very bright as she poured the milk and ladled out the porridge.
the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
From this reading “I've sold another story, Chickies,” she said; “the one about the King of the Mussels, so there'll be buns for tea.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading You can go and get them as soon as they're baked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I've sold another story, Chickies,” she said; “the one about the King of the Mussels, so there'll be buns for tea.
being one more than ten
From this reading About eleven, isn't it?”
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading Mother's face was very bright as she poured the milk and ladled out the porridge.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading “I've sold another story, Chickies,” she said; “the one about the King of the Mussels, so there'll be buns for tea.
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading You can go and get them as soon as they're baked.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading You can go and get them as soon as they're baked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I've sold another story, Chickies,” she said; “the one about the King of the Mussels, so there'll be buns for tea.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading About eleven, isn't it?”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was breakfast-time.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading “I've sold another story, Chickies,” she said; “the one about the King of the Mussels, so there'll be buns for tea.
past form of “ladle” — put (a liquid) into a container by means of a ladle
From this reading Mother's face was very bright as she poured the milk and ladled out the porridge.
a white nutritious liquid secreted by mammals and used as food by human beings
From this reading Mother's face was very bright as she poured the milk and ladled out the porridge.
possessive form of “mother” — a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Mother's face was very bright as she poured the milk and ladled out the porridge.
plural of “mussel” — black marine bivalves usually steamed in wine
From this reading “I've sold another story, Chickies,” she said; “the one about the King of the Mussels, so there'll be buns for tea.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “I've sold another story, Chickies,” she said; “the one about the King of the Mussels, so there'll be buns for tea.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “I've sold another story, Chickies,” she said; “the one about the King of the Mussels, so there'll be buns for tea.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Mother's face was very bright as she poured the milk and ladled out the porridge.
soft food made by boiling oatmeal or other meal or legumes in water or milk until thick
From this reading Mother's face was very bright as she poured the milk and ladled out the porridge.
past form of “pour” — cause to run
From this reading Mother's face was very bright as she poured the milk and ladled out the porridge.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I've sold another story, Chickies,” she said; “the one about the King of the Mussels, so there'll be buns for tea.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Mother's face was very bright as she poured the milk and ladled out the porridge.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “I've sold another story, Chickies,” she said; “the one about the King of the Mussels, so there'll be buns for tea.
disposed of to a purchaser
From this reading “I've sold another story, Chickies,” she said; “the one about the King of the Mussels, so there'll be buns for tea.
in the near future
From this reading You can go and get them as soon as they're baked.
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 “I've sold another story, Chickies,” she said; “the one about the King of the Mussels, so there'll be buns for tea.
a beverage made by steeping tea leaves in water
From this reading “I've sold another story, Chickies,” she said; “the one about the King of the Mussels, so there'll be buns for tea.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Mother's face was very bright as she poured the milk and ladled out the porridge.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading You can go and get them as soon as they're baked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I've sold another story, Chickies,” she said; “the one about the King of the Mussels, so there'll be buns for tea.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You can go and get them as soon as they're baked.
precisely as stated
From this reading Mother's face was very bright as she poured the milk and ladled out the porridge.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was breakfast-time.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You can go and get them as soon as they're baked.
Chapter 9 of The Railway Children by E. (Edith) Nesbit holds 301 sentences, grouped into 61 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 9 holds 301 sentences of The Railway Children, unabridged, divided into 61 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of The Railway Children by E. (Edith) Nesbit exactly as it stands in the public-domain 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 9 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 Railway Children by E. (Edith) Nesbit on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4195 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1874 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1874, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 349 minutes of reading across 839 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Railway Children section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 14 chapters of The Railway Children 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 Railway Children, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
