Chapter 2 of The Roly-Poly book is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Roly-Poly book is here in full — 77 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“What’s that?” asked Mama Roly-Poly. “What’s that?” asked Papa Roly-Poly. “What’s that?” asked Teddie and Freddie Roly-Poly. Then Humpty Dumpty called out, “It’s only I. I am falling down-stairs again!” Thump, thump! bump, bump!
Chapter 2 of The Roly-Poly book 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.
anew
From this reading “Then Humpty Dumpty called out, “It’s only I. I am falling down-stairs again!””
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading ““What’s that?” asked Mama Roly-Poly.”
knock against with force or violence
From this reading “Thump, thump! bump, bump!”
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading “Then Humpty Dumpty called out, “It’s only I. I am falling down-stairs again!””
decreasing in amount or degree
From this reading “Then Humpty Dumpty called out, “It’s only I. I am falling down-stairs again!””
informal terms for a mother
From this reading ““What’s that?” asked Mama Roly-Poly.”
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading ““What’s that?” asked Papa Roly-Poly.”
move rhythmically
From this reading “Thump, thump! bump, bump!”
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.
utter aloud; often with surprise, horror, or joy
In this reading “Then Humpty Dumpty called out, “It’s only I. I am falling down-stairs again!””
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.
anew
From this reading Then Humpty Dumpty called out, “It’s only I. I am falling down-stairs again!”
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading Then Humpty Dumpty called out, “It’s only I. I am falling down-stairs again!”
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “What’s that?” asked Teddie and Freddie Roly-Poly.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “What’s that?” asked Mama Roly-Poly.
knock against with force or violence
From this reading Thump, thump! bump, bump!
past form of “call” — assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Then Humpty Dumpty called out, “It’s only I. I am falling down-stairs again!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then Humpty Dumpty called out, “It’s only I. I am falling down-stairs again!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then Humpty Dumpty called out, “It’s only I. I am falling down-stairs again!”
decreasing in amount or degree
From this reading Then Humpty Dumpty called out, “It’s only I. I am falling down-stairs again!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What’s that?” asked Teddie and Freddie Roly-Poly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then Humpty Dumpty called out, “It’s only I. I am falling down-stairs again!”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Then Humpty Dumpty called out, “It’s only I. I am falling down-stairs again!”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Then Humpty Dumpty called out, “It’s only I. I am falling down-stairs again!”
informal terms for a mother
From this reading “What’s that?” asked Mama Roly-Poly.
and nothing more
From this reading Then Humpty Dumpty called out, “It’s only I. I am falling down-stairs again!”
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Then Humpty Dumpty called out, “It’s only I. I am falling down-stairs again!”
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading “What’s that?” asked Papa Roly-Poly.
a rotund individual
From this reading “What’s that?” asked Mama Roly-Poly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What’s that?” asked Teddie and Freddie Roly-Poly.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “What’s that?” asked Mama Roly-Poly.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then Humpty Dumpty called out, “It’s only I. I am falling down-stairs again!”
move rhythmically
From this reading Thump, thump! bump, bump!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “What’s that?” asked Mama Roly-Poly.
Chapter 2 of The Roly-Poly book by Laura Rountree Smith holds 77 sentences, grouped into 16 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 2 holds 77 sentences of The Roly-Poly book, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Roly-Poly book by Laura Rountree Smith exactly as it stands in the 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 2 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 Roly-Poly book by Laura Rountree Smith on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Roly-Poly book section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Roly-Poly book 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 Roly-Poly book, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
