Chapter 22 of The Rambles of a Rat is here in full — 99 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXII
Chapter 22 of The Rambles of a Rat is here in full — 99 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE FARMER AND HIS BRIDE. "I was caught one evening in a hay-rick. A swift-footed creature like you, Whiskerandos, might perhaps have escaped, but I was never remarkable for agility or speed. I felt a strong hand grasping me by the back of my neck, and I gave myself up for lost. "'Well, here's an odd creature,-- a piebald rat!
Chapter 22 of The Rambles of a Rat is here in full — 99 sentences across 20 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/19 · 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 gracefulness of a person or animal that is quick and nimble
From this reading “A swift-footed creature like you, Whiskerandos, might perhaps have escaped, but I was never remarkable for agility or speed.”
a woman who has recently been married
From this reading “THE FARMER AND HIS BRIDE.”
a person who operates a farm
From this reading “THE FARMER AND HIS BRIDE.”
understanding with difficulty
From this reading “I felt a strong hand grasping me by the back of my neck, and I gave myself up for lost.”
not divisible by two
From this reading “"'Well, here's an odd creature,-- a piebald rat!”
having sections or patches colored differently and usually brightly
From this reading “"'Well, here's an odd creature,-- a piebald rat!”
any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse
From this reading “"'Well, here's an odd creature,-- a piebald rat!”
unusual or striking
From this reading “A swift-footed creature like you, Whiskerandos, might perhaps have escaped, but I was never remarkable for agility or speed.”
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 “I felt a strong hand grasping me by the back of my neck, and I gave myself up for lost.”
In this reading “I felt a strong hand grasping me by the back of my neck, and I gave myself up for lost.”
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 "I was caught one evening in a hay-rick.
the gracefulness of a person or animal that is quick and nimble
From this reading A swift-footed creature like you, Whiskerandos, might perhaps have escaped, but I was never remarkable for agility or speed.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading "'Well, here's an odd creature,-- a piebald rat!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE FARMER AND HIS BRIDE.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading I felt a strong hand grasping me by the back of my neck, and I gave myself up for lost.
a woman who has recently been married
From this reading THE FARMER AND HIS BRIDE.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading A swift-footed creature like you, Whiskerandos, might perhaps have escaped, but I was never remarkable for agility or speed.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading I felt a strong hand grasping me by the back of my neck, and I gave myself up for lost.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading "I was caught one evening in a hay-rick.
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading A swift-footed creature like you, Whiskerandos, might perhaps have escaped, but I was never remarkable for agility or speed.
having escaped, especially from confinement
From this reading A swift-footed creature like you, Whiskerandos, might perhaps have escaped, but I was never remarkable for agility or speed.
the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)
From this reading "I was caught one evening in a hay-rick.
a person who operates a farm
From this reading THE FARMER AND HIS BRIDE.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading I felt a strong hand grasping me by the back of my neck, and I gave myself up for lost.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading A swift-footed creature like you, Whiskerandos, might perhaps have escaped, but I was never remarkable for agility or speed.
inflected form of “give” — cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading I felt a strong hand grasping me by the back of my neck, and I gave myself up for lost.
understanding with difficulty
From this reading I felt a strong hand grasping me by the back of my neck, and I gave myself up for lost.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading I felt a strong hand grasping me by the back of my neck, and I gave myself up for lost.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading A swift-footed creature like you, Whiskerandos, might perhaps have escaped, but I was never remarkable for agility or speed.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I was caught one evening in a hay-rick.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "'Well, here's an odd creature,-- a piebald rat!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading THE FARMER AND HIS BRIDE.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I was caught one evening in a hay-rick.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "I was caught one evening in a hay-rick.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading A swift-footed creature like you, Whiskerandos, might perhaps have escaped, but I was never remarkable for agility or speed.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading I felt a strong hand grasping me by the back of my neck, and I gave myself up for lost.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I felt a strong hand grasping me by the back of my neck, and I gave myself up for lost.
used to say something is possible but not certain
From this reading A swift-footed creature like you, Whiskerandos, might perhaps have escaped, but I was never remarkable for agility or speed.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I felt a strong hand grasping me by the back of my neck, and I gave myself up for lost.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading I felt a strong hand grasping me by the back of my neck, and I gave myself up for lost.
the part of an organism (human or animal) that connects the head to the rest of the body
From this reading I felt a strong hand grasping me by the back of my neck, and I gave myself up for lost.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading A swift-footed creature like you, Whiskerandos, might perhaps have escaped, but I was never remarkable for agility or speed.
not divisible by two
From this reading "'Well, here's an odd creature,-- a piebald rat!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I felt a strong hand grasping me by the back of my neck, and I gave myself up for lost.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading "I was caught one evening in a hay-rick.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading A swift-footed creature like you, Whiskerandos, might perhaps have escaped, but I was never remarkable for agility or speed.
by chance
From this reading A swift-footed creature like you, Whiskerandos, might perhaps have escaped, but I was never remarkable for agility or speed.
having sections or patches colored differently and usually brightly
From this reading "'Well, here's an odd creature,-- a piebald rat!
any of various long-tailed rodents similar to but larger than a mouse
From this reading "'Well, here's an odd creature,-- a piebald rat!
unusual or striking
From this reading A swift-footed creature like you, Whiskerandos, might perhaps have escaped, but I was never remarkable for agility or speed.
move hurridly
From this reading A swift-footed creature like you, Whiskerandos, might perhaps have escaped, but I was never remarkable for agility or speed.
having strength or power greater than average or expected
From this reading I felt a strong hand grasping me by the back of my neck, and I gave myself up for lost.
having rapidly moving feet
From this reading A swift-footed creature like you, Whiskerandos, might perhaps have escaped, but I was never remarkable for agility or speed.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE FARMER AND HIS BRIDE.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading I felt a strong hand grasping me by the back of my neck, and I gave myself up for lost.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "I was caught one evening in a hay-rick.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading "'Well, here's an odd creature,-- a piebald rat!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A swift-footed creature like you, Whiskerandos, might perhaps have escaped, but I was never remarkable for agility or speed.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading A swift-footed creature like you, Whiskerandos, might perhaps have escaped, but I was never remarkable for agility or speed.
Chapter 22 of The Rambles of a Rat by A. L. O. E. holds 99 sentences, grouped into 20 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 22 holds 99 sentences of The Rambles of a Rat, unabridged, divided into 20 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 22 of The Rambles of a Rat by A. L. O. E. exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 99 sentences, grouped into 20 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 20 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 20 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 22 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 Rambles of a Rat by A. L. O. E. on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1421 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #29863 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #29863, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 118 minutes of reading across 285 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Rambles of a Rat section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of The Rambles of a Rat 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 Rambles of a Rat, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
