The Story of an African Farm

Chapter XXVI · Chapter 26

Chapter 26 of The Story of an African Farm is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Olive Schreiner • Curated US English Learning Edition

Cover illustration for The Story of an African Farm

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

“Tell me what a soul desires, and I will tell you what it is.”

So runs the phrase.

“Tell me what a man dreams, and I will tell you what he loves.”

That also has its truth.

For, ever from the earliest childhood to the latest age, day by day, and step by step, the busy waking life is followed and reflected by the life of dreams--waking dreams, sleeping dreams.

Narrator

Speed 0.75x

AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter XXVI Reading 1/30

The Story of an African Farm

Chapter XXVI · Chapter 26

Chapter 26 of The Story of an African Farm is here in full — 154 sentences across 31 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/30 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

“Tell me what a soul desires, and I will tell you what it is.”

/tel miː wʌt ə soʊl dɪˈzaɪərz ənd aɪ wɪl tel juː wʌt ɪt ɪz/

Line 2

So runs the phrase.

/soʊ rʌnz ðə freɪz/

Line 3

“Tell me what a man dreams, and I will tell you what he loves.”

/tel miː wʌt ə mæn driːmz ənd aɪ wɪl tel juː wʌt hiː lʌvz/

Line 4

That also has its truth.

/ðæt ˈɔːlsoʊ hæz ɪts truːθ/

Line 5

For, ever from the earliest childhood to the latest age, day by day, and step by step, the busy waking life is followed and reflected by the life of dreams--waking dreams, sleeping dreams.

Learner Dictionary

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.

childhood noun US /ˈtʃaɪldhʊd/

the time of person's life when they are a child

From this reading “For, ever from the earliest childhood to the latest age, day by day, and step by step, the busy waking life is followed and reflected by the life of dreams--waking dreams, sleeping dreams.”

desires noun US /dɪˈzaɪərz/

plural of “desire” — the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state

From this reading ““Tell me what a soul desires, and I will tell you what it is.””

earliest adjective US /ˈɜːrliəst/

(comparative and superlative of “early”) more early than; most early

latest adjective US /ˈleɪtəst/

up to the immediate present; most recent or most up-to-date

phrase noun US /freɪz/

an expression consisting of one or more words forming a grammatical constituent of a sentence

From this reading “So runs the phrase.”

reflected adjective US /rɪˈflektɪd/

(especially of incident sound or light) bent or sent back

runs noun US /rʌnz/

plural of “run” — a score in baseball made by a runner touching all four bases safely

From this reading “So runs the phrase.”

waking adjective US /ˈweɪ.kɪŋ/

Risen from sleep; conscious.

All words in this reading · 43

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading “Tell me what a soul desires, and I will tell you what it is.”

agenounUS /eɪdʒ/

how long something has existed

From this reading For, ever from the earliest childhood to the latest age, day by day, and step by step, the busy waking life is followed and reflected by the life of dreams--waking dreams, sleeping dreams.

alsoadverbUS /ˈɔːlsoʊ/

in addition

From this reading That also has its truth.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading “Tell me what a soul desires, and I will tell you what it is.”

busyadjectiveUS /ˈbɪzi/

actively or fully engaged or occupied

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

childhoodnounUS /ˈtʃaɪldhʊd/

the time of person's life when they are a child

daynounUS /deɪ/

time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis

desiresnounUS /dɪˈzaɪərz/

plural of “desire” — the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state

From this reading “Tell me what a soul desires, and I will tell you what it is.”

dreamsnounUS /driːmz/

plural of “dream” — a series of mental images and emotions occurring during sleep

From this reading “Tell me what a man dreams, and I will tell you what he loves.”

earliestadjectiveUS /ˈɜːrliəst/

(comparative and superlative of “early”) more early than; most early

everadverbUS /ˈevər/

at any time

followedverbUS /ˈfɑːloʊd/

past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after

ForprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

fromprepositionUS /frʌm/

showing where something starts, or who sent it

hasauxiliary verbUS /hæz/

the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading That also has its truth.

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading “Tell me what a man dreams, and I will tell you what he loves.”

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading “Tell me what a soul desires, and I will tell you what it is.”

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading “Tell me what a soul desires, and I will tell you what it is.”

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading “Tell me what a soul desires, and I will tell you what it is.”

itsdeterminerUS /ɪts/

belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned

From this reading That also has its truth.

latestadjectiveUS /ˈleɪtəst/

up to the immediate present; most recent or most up-to-date

lifenounUS /laɪf/

a characteristic state or mode of living

lovesnounUS /lʌvz/

plural of “love” — a strong positive emotion of regard and affection

From this reading “Tell me what a man dreams, and I will tell you what he loves.”

mannounUS /mæn/

an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)

From this reading “Tell me what a man dreams, and I will tell you what he loves.”

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading “Tell me what a soul desires, and I will tell you what it is.”

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

phrasenounUS /freɪz/

an expression consisting of one or more words forming a grammatical constituent of a sentence

From this reading So runs the phrase.

reflectedadjectiveUS /rɪˈflektɪd/

(especially of incident sound or light) bent or sent back

runsnounUS /rʌnz/

plural of “run” — a score in baseball made by a runner touching all four bases safely

From this reading So runs the phrase.

sleepingnounUS /ˈsliːpɪŋ/

the state of being asleep

SoconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading So runs the phrase.

soulnounUS /soʊl/

the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life

From this reading “Tell me what a soul desires, and I will tell you what it is.”

stepnounUS /step/

any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal

TellverbUS /tel/

express in words

From this reading “Tell me what a soul desires, and I will tell you what it is.”

ThatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading That also has its truth.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading So runs the phrase.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

truthnounUS /truːθ/

a fact that has been verified

From this reading That also has its truth.

wakingadjectiveUS /ˈweɪ.kɪŋ/

Risen from sleep; conscious.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading “Tell me what a soul desires, and I will tell you what it is.”

willmodal verbUS /wɪl/

used to talk about the future, or about willingness

From this reading “Tell me what a soul desires, and I will tell you what it is.”

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading “Tell me what a soul desires, and I will tell you what it is.”

Chapter 26 of The Story of an African Farm by Olive Schreiner holds 154 sentences, grouped into 31 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.

What does chapter 26 of The Story of an African Farm contain?

Chapter 26 holds 154 sentences of The Story of an African Farm, unabridged, divided into 31 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 26 of The Story of an African Farm by Olive Schreiner exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 154 sentences, grouped into 31 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.

How do I study chapter 26 of The Story of an African Farm?

Work through the 31 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 31 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.

Can chapter 26 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 26 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.

Questions about reading The Story of an African Farm

Common questions about reading The Story of an African Farm by Olive Schreiner on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Story of an African Farm?

Yes. All 6299 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1441 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Story of an African Farm is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #1441, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Story of an African Farm take to read?

About 524 minutes of reading across 1260 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Story of an African Farm section by section

How to work through The Story of an African Farm section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

Open a chapter

Choose one of the 27 chapters of The Story of an African Farm to begin.
Read one section

Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Listen and tap

Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Story of an African Farm

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Story of an African Farm, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Watch: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Story of an African Farm; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
African: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Story of an African Farm; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Poured: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Story of an African Farm; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Light: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Story of an African Farm; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.

Chapter XXVI · Chapter 26

What does chapter 26 of The Story of an African Farm contain?

How do I study chapter 26 of The Story of an African Farm?

Can chapter 26 be read aloud to me?

Questions about reading The Story of an African Farm

How to read The Story of an African Farm section by section

Open a chapter

Read one section

Listen and tap

Vocabulary met early in The Story of an African Farm