Chapter 3 of The Short-story is here in full — 386 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Short-story is here in full — 386 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"I'm gwine, Mass Will--deed I is," replied the negro, very promptly--"mos out to the end now." "_Out to the end!_" here fairly screamed Legrand, "do you say you are out to the end of that limb?" "Soon be to de eend, massa,--o-o-o-o-oh! Lor-gol-a-marcy! what _is_ dis here pon de tree?" "Well!" cried Legrand, highly delighted, "what is it?"
Chapter 3 of The Short-story is here in full — 386 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/77 · 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.
a legal document signed and sealed and delivered to effect a transfer of property and to show the legal right to possess it
From this reading “"I'm gwine, Mass Will--deed I is," replied the negro, very promptly--"mos out to the end now."”
(Roman mythology) god of the underworld; counterpart of Greek Hades
From this reading “Lor-gol-a-marcy! what _is_ dis here pon de tree?"”
to a high degree or extent; favorably or with much respect
From this reading “"Well!" cried Legrand, highly delighted, "what is it?"”
one of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper
From this reading “"_Out to the end!_" here fairly screamed Legrand, "do you say you are out to the end of that limb?"”
plural of “mo” — an indefinitely short time
From this reading “"I'm gwine, Mass Will--deed I is," replied the negro, very promptly--"mos out to the end now."”
a person with African ancestry, "Negro" and "Negroid" are archaic and pejorative today
From this reading “"I'm gwine, Mass Will--deed I is," replied the negro, very promptly--"mos out to the end now."”
with little or no delay
From this reading “"I'm gwine, Mass Will--deed I is," replied the negro, very promptly--"mos out to the end now."”
past form of “scream” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading “"_Out to the end!_" here fairly screamed Legrand, "do you say you are out to the end of that limb?"”
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.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "_Out to the end!_" here fairly screamed Legrand, "do you say you are out to the end of that limb?"
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Soon be to de eend, massa,--o-o-o-o-oh!
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "Well!" cried Legrand, highly delighted, "what is it?"
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading "Soon be to de eend, massa,--o-o-o-o-oh!
a legal document signed and sealed and delivered to effect a transfer of property and to show the legal right to possess it
From this reading "I'm gwine, Mass Will--deed I is," replied the negro, very promptly--"mos out to the end now."
greatly pleased
From this reading "Well!" cried Legrand, highly delighted, "what is it?"
(Roman mythology) god of the underworld; counterpart of Greek Hades
From this reading Lor-gol-a-marcy! what _is_ dis here pon de tree?"
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "_Out to the end!_" here fairly screamed Legrand, "do you say you are out to the end of that limb?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Soon be to de eend, massa,--o-o-o-o-oh!
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading "I'm gwine, Mass Will--deed I is," replied the negro, very promptly--"mos out to the end now."
to certain extent or degree
From this reading "_Out to the end!_" here fairly screamed Legrand, "do you say you are out to the end of that limb?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm gwine, Mass Will--deed I is," replied the negro, very promptly--"mos out to the end now."
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "_Out to the end!_" here fairly screamed Legrand, "do you say you are out to the end of that limb?"
to a high degree or extent; favorably or with much respect
From this reading "Well!" cried Legrand, highly delighted, "what is it?"
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "I'm gwine, Mass Will--deed I is," replied the negro, very promptly--"mos out to the end now."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "I'm gwine, Mass Will--deed I is," replied the negro, very promptly--"mos out to the end now."
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "I'm gwine, Mass Will--deed I is," replied the negro, very promptly--"mos out to the end now."
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading "Well!" cried Legrand, highly delighted, "what is it?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "_Out to the end!_" here fairly screamed Legrand, "do you say you are out to the end of that limb?"
one of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper
From this reading "_Out to the end!_" here fairly screamed Legrand, "do you say you are out to the end of that limb?"
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lor-gol-a-marcy! what _is_ dis here pon de tree?"
the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
From this reading "I'm gwine, Mass Will--deed I is," replied the negro, very promptly--"mos out to the end now."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Soon be to de eend, massa,--o-o-o-o-oh!
plural of “mo” — an indefinitely short time
From this reading "I'm gwine, Mass Will--deed I is," replied the negro, very promptly--"mos out to the end now."
a person with African ancestry, "Negro" and "Negroid" are archaic and pejorative today
From this reading "I'm gwine, Mass Will--deed I is," replied the negro, very promptly--"mos out to the end now."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "I'm gwine, Mass Will--deed I is," replied the negro, very promptly--"mos out to the end now."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Soon be to de eend, massa,--o-o-o-o-oh!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "_Out to the end!_" here fairly screamed Legrand, "do you say you are out to the end of that limb?"
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading "I'm gwine, Mass Will--deed I is," replied the negro, very promptly--"mos out to the end now."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lor-gol-a-marcy! what _is_ dis here pon de tree?"
with little or no delay
From this reading "I'm gwine, Mass Will--deed I is," replied the negro, very promptly--"mos out to the end now."
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading "I'm gwine, Mass Will--deed I is," replied the negro, very promptly--"mos out to the end now."
express in words
From this reading "_Out to the end!_" here fairly screamed Legrand, "do you say you are out to the end of that limb?"
past form of “scream” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading "_Out to the end!_" here fairly screamed Legrand, "do you say you are out to the end of that limb?"
in the near future
From this reading "Soon be to de eend, massa,--o-o-o-o-oh!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading "_Out to the end!_" here fairly screamed Legrand, "do you say you are out to the end of that limb?"
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "I'm gwine, Mass Will--deed I is," replied the negro, very promptly--"mos out to the end now."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "I'm gwine, Mass Will--deed I is," replied the negro, very promptly--"mos out to the end now."
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading Lor-gol-a-marcy! what _is_ dis here pon de tree?"
precisely as stated
From this reading "I'm gwine, Mass Will--deed I is," replied the negro, very promptly--"mos out to the end now."
(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!" cried Legrand, highly delighted, "what is it?"
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Lor-gol-a-marcy! what _is_ dis here pon de tree?"
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading "I'm gwine, Mass Will--deed I is," replied the negro, very promptly--"mos out to the end now."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "_Out to the end!_" here fairly screamed Legrand, "do you say you are out to the end of that limb?"
Chapter 3 of The Short-story by William Patterson [Author of introduction, etc.] Atkinson holds 386 sentences, grouped into 78 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 3 holds 386 sentences of The Short-story, unabridged, divided into 78 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Short-story by William Patterson [Author of introduction, etc.] Atkinson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 386 sentences, grouped into 78 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 78 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 78 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 3 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 Short-story by William Patterson [Author of introduction, etc.] Atkinson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3975 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #21964 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #21964, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 331 minutes of reading across 795 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Short-story section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Short-story 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 Short-story, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
