Chapter 7 of The Story of a Donkey is here in full — 89 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VII
Chapter 7 of The Story of a Donkey is here in full — 89 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Presently I stopped. I was in a meadow. I felt tired and sad. I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey! How thin you are!
Chapter 7 of The Story of a Donkey is here in full — 89 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/17 · 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.
the verbal act of requesting
From this reading “I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!”
plural of “being” — the state or fact of existing
From this reading “I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!”
the symbol of the Democratic Party; introduced in cartoons by Thomas Nast in 1874
From this reading “I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!”
plural of “donkey” — the symbol of the Democratic Party; introduced in cartoons by Thomas Nast in 1874
From this reading “I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!”
a field where grass or alfalfa are grown to be made into hay
From this reading “I was in a meadow.”
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading “I felt tired and sad.”
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading “How thin you are!”
having come into contact
From this reading “I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!”
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 “I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!”
In this reading “I felt tired and sad.”
In this reading “I was in a meadow.”
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 I was in a meadow.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I felt tired and sad.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading How thin you are!
the verbal act of requesting
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
plural of “being” — the state or fact of existing
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
the symbol of the Democratic Party; introduced in cartoons by Thomas Nast in 1874
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
plural of “donkey” — the symbol of the Democratic Party; introduced in cartoons by Thomas Nast in 1874
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading I felt tired and sad.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How thin you are!
characteristic of humanity
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Presently I stopped.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I was in a meadow.
and nothing more
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
a field where grass or alfalfa are grown to be made into hay
From this reading I was in a meadow.
used when the speaker is also the object of the action
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
in the near future
From this reading Presently I stopped.
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading I felt tired and sad.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
(of a nose) blocked
From this reading Presently I stopped.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
Having little thickness or extent.
From this reading How thin you are!
depleted of strength or energy
From this reading I felt tired and sad.
having come into contact
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I was in a meadow.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
at the time that
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
used to introduce two or more possibilities
From this reading I was just asking myself whether donkeys were not a great deal better than human beings, when a soft little hand touched me, and a soft little voice said:— “Oh, _poor_ donkey!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading How thin you are!
Chapter 7 of The Story of a Donkey by Sophie, comtesse de Ségur holds 89 sentences, grouped into 18 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 7 holds 89 sentences of The Story of a Donkey, unabridged, divided into 18 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 7 of The Story of a Donkey by Sophie, comtesse de Ségur exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 89 sentences, grouped into 18 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 18 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 18 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 7 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 Story of a Donkey by Sophie, comtesse de Ségur on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 725 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55256 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55256, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 60 minutes of reading across 145 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Story of a Donkey section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of The Story of a Donkey 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 Story of a Donkey, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
