Chapter 1 of The Soul of a Child is here in full — 1561 sentences across 313 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Soul of a Child is here in full — 1561 sentences across 313 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It depends on which way the spire falls. If it falls outward, I fear the whole city will go." Then he walked off. By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them: "You'll freeze to death, all of you, if you don't put on some clothes."
Chapter 1 of The Soul of a Child is here in full — 1561 sentences across 313 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 157/312 · 5 reading units · Lines 781–785
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.
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading “By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:”
third-person singular of “depend” — be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading “It depends on which way the spire falls.”
the petals or sepals of a flower that bend downward (especially the outer perianth of an iris)
From this reading “It depends on which way the spire falls.”
stop moving or become immobilized
From this reading “"You'll freeze to death, all of you, if you don't put on some clothes."”
the mother of your father or mother
From this reading “By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:”
relating to physical reality rather than with thoughts or the mind
From this reading “If it falls outward, I fear the whole city will go."”
a tall tower that forms the superstructure of a building (usually a church or temple) and that tapers to a point at the top
From this reading “It depends on which way the spire falls.”
showing sorrow
From this reading “By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading "You'll freeze to death, all of you, if you don't put on some clothes."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
declared publicly; made widely known
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
the particular occupation for which you are trained
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts
From this reading If it falls outward, I fear the whole city will go."
clothing in general
From this reading "You'll freeze to death, all of you, if you don't put on some clothes."
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading "You'll freeze to death, all of you, if you don't put on some clothes."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
third-person singular of “depend” — be contingent upon (something that is elided)
From this reading It depends on which way the spire falls.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You'll freeze to death, all of you, if you don't put on some clothes."
the petals or sepals of a flower that bend downward (especially the outer perianth of an iris)
From this reading It depends on which way the spire falls.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading If it falls outward, I fear the whole city will go."
stop moving or become immobilized
From this reading "You'll freeze to death, all of you, if you don't put on some clothes."
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
a young female
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading If it falls outward, I fear the whole city will go."
the mother of your father or mother
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then he walked off.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading If it falls outward, I fear the whole city will go."
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If it falls outward, I fear the whole city will go."
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It depends on which way the spire falls.
and nothing more
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "You'll freeze to death, all of you, if you don't put on some clothes."
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Then he walked off.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading It depends on which way the spire falls.
relating to physical reality rather than with thoughts or the mind
From this reading If it falls outward, I fear the whole city will go."
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading "You'll freeze to death, all of you, if you don't put on some clothes."
a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading "You'll freeze to death, all of you, if you don't put on some clothes."
a tall tower that forms the superstructure of a building (usually a church or temple) and that tapers to a point at the top
From this reading It depends on which way the spire falls.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It depends on which way the spire falls.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then he walked off.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
past form of “walk” — use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
From this reading Then he walked off.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading It depends on which way the spire falls.
showing sorrow
From this reading By that time the servant girl had come in weeping as if she had just heard her death-doom announced, and from the Granny was calling to them:
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading It depends on which way the spire falls.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading If it falls outward, I fear the whole city will go."
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading If it falls outward, I fear the whole city will go."
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "You'll freeze to death, all of you, if you don't put on some clothes."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "You'll freeze to death, all of you, if you don't put on some clothes."
Chapter 1 of The Soul of a Child by Edwin Björkman holds 1561 sentences, grouped into 313 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 1 holds 1561 sentences of The Soul of a Child, unabridged, divided into 313 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Soul of a Child by Edwin Björkman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 1561 sentences, grouped into 313 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 313 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 313 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 1 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.
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