Chapter 21 of The Royal Book of Oz is here in full — 144 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The Royal Book of Oz is here in full — 144 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
DOROTHY UPSETS THE CEREMONY OF THE ISLAND "A caravan!" whistled the Comfortable Camel, lurching to his feet. "How nice!" "I doubt that!" The dromedary's eyes flew open, and he stared sleepily at the magnificent procession of Silver Islanders. First came the musicians, playing their shining silver trumpets and flutes.
Chapter 21 of The Royal Book of Oz is here in full — 144 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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.
cud-chewing mammal used as a draft or saddle animal in desert regions
From this reading “DOROTHY UPSETS THE CEREMONY OF THE ISLAND "A caravan!" whistled the Comfortable Camel, lurching to his feet.”
plural of “flute” — a high-pitched woodwind instrument; a slender tube closed at one end with finger holes on one end and an opening near the closed end across which the breath is blown
From this reading “First came the musicians, playing their shining silver trumpets and flutes.”
plural of “islander” — an inhabitant of an island
From this reading “The dromedary's eyes flew open, and he stared sleepily at the magnificent procession of Silver Islanders.”
-ing form of “lurch” — walk as if unable to control one's movements
From this reading “DOROTHY UPSETS THE CEREMONY OF THE ISLAND "A caravan!" whistled the Comfortable Camel, lurching to his feet.”
plural of “musician” — someone who plays a musical instrument (as a profession)
From this reading “First came the musicians, playing their shining silver trumpets and flutes.”
in a sleepy manner
From this reading “The dromedary's eyes flew open, and he stared sleepily at the magnificent procession of Silver Islanders.”
pitcher plant of southeastern United States having erect yellow trumpet-shaped pitchers with wide mouths and erect lids
From this reading “First came the musicians, playing their shining silver trumpets and flutes.”
plural of “upset” — an unhappy and worried mental state
From this reading “DOROTHY UPSETS THE CEREMONY OF THE ISLAND "A caravan!" whistled the Comfortable Camel, lurching to his feet.”
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 “First came the musicians, playing their shining silver trumpets and flutes.”
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 DOROTHY UPSETS THE CEREMONY OF THE ISLAND "A caravan!" whistled the Comfortable Camel, lurching to his feet.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The dromedary's eyes flew open, and he stared sleepily at the magnificent procession of Silver Islanders.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The dromedary's eyes flew open, and he stared sleepily at the magnificent procession of Silver Islanders.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading First came the musicians, playing their shining silver trumpets and flutes.
cud-chewing mammal used as a draft or saddle animal in desert regions
From this reading DOROTHY UPSETS THE CEREMONY OF THE ISLAND "A caravan!" whistled the Comfortable Camel, lurching to his feet.
a procession (of wagons or mules or camels) traveling together in single file
From this reading DOROTHY UPSETS THE CEREMONY OF THE ISLAND "A caravan!" whistled the Comfortable Camel, lurching to his feet.
a formal event performed on a special occasion
From this reading DOROTHY UPSETS THE CEREMONY OF THE ISLAND "A caravan!" whistled the Comfortable Camel, lurching to his feet.
providing or experiencing physical well-being or relief (“comfy” is informal)
From this reading DOROTHY UPSETS THE CEREMONY OF THE ISLAND "A caravan!" whistled the Comfortable Camel, lurching to his feet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DOROTHY UPSETS THE CEREMONY OF THE ISLAND "A caravan!" whistled the Comfortable Camel, lurching to his feet.
the state of being unsure of something
From this reading "I doubt that!"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The dromedary's eyes flew open, and he stared sleepily at the magnificent procession of Silver Islanders.
opinion or judgment
From this reading The dromedary's eyes flew open, and he stared sleepily at the magnificent procession of Silver Islanders.
plural of “foot” — the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading DOROTHY UPSETS THE CEREMONY OF THE ISLAND "A caravan!" whistled the Comfortable Camel, lurching to his feet.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading First came the musicians, playing their shining silver trumpets and flutes.
inflected form of “fly” — travel through the air; be airborne
From this reading The dromedary's eyes flew open, and he stared sleepily at the magnificent procession of Silver Islanders.
plural of “flute” — a high-pitched woodwind instrument; a slender tube closed at one end with finger holes on one end and an opening near the closed end across which the breath is blown
From this reading First came the musicians, playing their shining silver trumpets and flutes.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The dromedary's eyes flew open, and he stared sleepily at the magnificent procession of Silver Islanders.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading DOROTHY UPSETS THE CEREMONY OF THE ISLAND "A caravan!" whistled the Comfortable Camel, lurching to his feet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "How nice!"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I doubt that!"
a land mass (smaller than a continent) that is surrounded by water
From this reading DOROTHY UPSETS THE CEREMONY OF THE ISLAND "A caravan!" whistled the Comfortable Camel, lurching to his feet.
plural of “islander” — an inhabitant of an island
From this reading The dromedary's eyes flew open, and he stared sleepily at the magnificent procession of Silver Islanders.
-ing form of “lurch” — walk as if unable to control one's movements
From this reading DOROTHY UPSETS THE CEREMONY OF THE ISLAND "A caravan!" whistled the Comfortable Camel, lurching to his feet.
characterized by grandeur
From this reading The dromedary's eyes flew open, and he stared sleepily at the magnificent procession of Silver Islanders.
plural of “musician” — someone who plays a musical instrument (as a profession)
From this reading First came the musicians, playing their shining silver trumpets and flutes.
pleasant or pleasing or agreeable in nature or appearance
From this reading "How nice!"
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading DOROTHY UPSETS THE CEREMONY OF THE ISLAND "A caravan!" whistled the Comfortable Camel, lurching to his feet.
To move from a closed position.
From this reading The dromedary's eyes flew open, and he stared sleepily at the magnificent procession of Silver Islanders.
the act of playing a musical instrument
From this reading First came the musicians, playing their shining silver trumpets and flutes.
(theology) the origination of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost
From this reading The dromedary's eyes flew open, and he stared sleepily at the magnificent procession of Silver Islanders.
marked by exceptional merit
From this reading First came the musicians, playing their shining silver trumpets and flutes.
a soft white precious univalent metallic element having the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal; occurs in argentite and in free form; used in coins and jewelry and tableware and photography
From this reading The dromedary's eyes flew open, and he stared sleepily at the magnificent procession of Silver Islanders.
in a sleepy manner
From this reading The dromedary's eyes flew open, and he stared sleepily at the magnificent procession of Silver Islanders.
past form of “stare” — look at with fixed eyes
From this reading The dromedary's eyes flew open, and he stared sleepily at the magnificent procession of Silver Islanders.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "I doubt that!"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading DOROTHY UPSETS THE CEREMONY OF THE ISLAND "A caravan!" whistled the Comfortable Camel, lurching to his feet.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading First came the musicians, playing their shining silver trumpets and flutes.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading DOROTHY UPSETS THE CEREMONY OF THE ISLAND "A caravan!" whistled the Comfortable Camel, lurching to his feet.
pitcher plant of southeastern United States having erect yellow trumpet-shaped pitchers with wide mouths and erect lids
From this reading First came the musicians, playing their shining silver trumpets and flutes.
plural of “upset” — an unhappy and worried mental state
From this reading DOROTHY UPSETS THE CEREMONY OF THE ISLAND "A caravan!" whistled the Comfortable Camel, lurching to his feet.
past form of “whistle” — make whistling sounds
From this reading DOROTHY UPSETS THE CEREMONY OF THE ISLAND "A caravan!" whistled the Comfortable Camel, lurching to his feet.
Chapter 21 of The Royal Book of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson holds 144 sentences, grouped into 29 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 21 holds 144 sentences of The Royal Book of Oz, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The Royal Book of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 144 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 21 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 Royal Book of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3066 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30537 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30537, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 255 minutes of reading across 614 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Royal Book of Oz section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The Royal Book of Oz 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 Royal Book of Oz, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
