Chapter 12 of The Secret Garden is here in full — 241 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
For two or three minutes he stood looking round him, while Mary watched him, and then he began to walk about softly, even more lightly than Mary had walked the first time she had found herself inside the four walls.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Secret Garden is here in full — 241 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“MIGHT I HAVE A BIT OF EARTH?” Mary ran so fast that she was rather out of breath when she reached her room. Her hair was ruffled on her forehead and her cheeks were bright pink. Her dinner was waiting on the table, and Martha was waiting near it. “Tha’s a bit late,” she said.
Chapter 12 of The Secret Garden is here in full — 241 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/48 · 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.
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “MIGHT I HAVE A BIT OF EARTH?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her hair was ruffled on her forehead and her cheeks were bright pink.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “MIGHT I HAVE A BIT OF EARTH?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mary ran so fast that she was rather out of breath when she reached her room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her hair was ruffled on her forehead and her cheeks were bright pink.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her hair was ruffled on her forehead and her cheeks were bright pink.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her dinner was waiting on the table, and Martha was waiting near it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “MIGHT I HAVE A BIT OF EARTH?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mary ran so fast that she was rather out of breath when she reached her room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her hair was ruffled on her forehead and her cheeks were bright pink.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her hair was ruffled on her forehead and her cheeks were bright pink.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “MIGHT I HAVE A BIT OF EARTH?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mary ran so fast that she was rather out of breath when she reached her room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “MIGHT I HAVE A BIT OF EARTH?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her dinner was waiting on the table, and Martha was waiting near it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Tha’s a bit late,” she said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her dinner was waiting on the table, and Martha was waiting near it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mary ran so fast that she was rather out of breath when she reached her room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “MIGHT I HAVE A BIT OF EARTH?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her dinner was waiting on the table, and Martha was waiting near it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “MIGHT I HAVE A BIT OF EARTH?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her hair was ruffled on her forehead and her cheeks were bright pink.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mary ran so fast that she was rather out of breath when she reached her room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her hair was ruffled on her forehead and her cheeks were bright pink.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mary ran so fast that she was rather out of breath when she reached her room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mary ran so fast that she was rather out of breath when she reached her room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mary ran so fast that she was rather out of breath when she reached her room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mary ran so fast that she was rather out of breath when she reached her room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her hair was ruffled on her forehead and her cheeks were bright pink.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Tha’s a bit late,” she said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mary ran so fast that she was rather out of breath when she reached her room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mary ran so fast that she was rather out of breath when she reached her room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her dinner was waiting on the table, and Martha was waiting near it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Tha’s a bit late,” she said.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mary ran so fast that she was rather out of breath when she reached her room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her dinner was waiting on the table, and Martha was waiting near it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her dinner was waiting on the table, and Martha was waiting near it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mary ran so fast that she was rather out of breath when she reached her room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her hair was ruffled on her forehead and her cheeks were bright pink.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mary ran so fast that she was rather out of breath when she reached her room.
Use these questions to verify literal comprehension before continuing to the next chapter.
What is the central narrative or theme conveyed in this section of Chapter 11: The Nest Of The Missel Thrush?
Which core linguistic virtue or character attribute is emphasized in this passage?
According to the text: "For two or three minutes he stood looking round him, while Mary watched...", what tone does the author establish?
Repeat the selected source lines aloud to practice rhythm, stress, and clear US English pronunciation.
Chapter 12 of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett holds 241 sentences, grouped into 49 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 12 holds 241 sentences of The Secret Garden, unabridged, divided into 49 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 241 sentences, grouped into 49 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 49 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 49 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 12 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 Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5579 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #113 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #113, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 464 minutes of reading across 1116 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Secret Garden section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 28 chapters of The Secret Garden 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 Secret Garden, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
