Chapter 1 of The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse is here in full — 86 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse is here in full — 86 sentences across 18 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Author of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit," &c. Frederick Warne & Co., Inc. New York Johnny Town-mouse was born in a cupboard. Timmy Willie was born in a garden. Timmy Willie was a little country mouse who went to town by mistake in a hamper. The gardener sent vegetables to town once a week by carrier; he packed them in a big hamper.
Chapter 1 of The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse is here in full — 86 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.
someone whose employment involves carrying something
From this reading “The gardener sent vegetables to town once a week by carrier; he packed them in a big hamper.”
a small room (or recess) or cabinet used for storage space
From this reading “Frederick Warne & Co., Inc. New York Johnny Town-mouse was born in a cupboard.”
a town in northern Maryland to the west of Baltimore
From this reading “Frederick Warne & Co., Inc. New York Johnny Town-mouse was born in a cupboard.”
someone who takes care of a garden
From this reading “The gardener sent vegetables to town once a week by carrier; he packed them in a big hamper.”
prevent the progress or free movement of
From this reading “Timmy Willie was a little country mouse who went to town by mistake in a hamper.”
a heterogeneous collection of groups united in their opposition to Saddam Hussein's government of Iraq; formed in 1992 it is comprised of Sunni and Shiite Arabs and Kurds who hope to build a new government
From this reading “Frederick Warne & Co., Inc. New York Johnny Town-mouse was born in a cupboard.”
any of numerous small rodents typically resembling diminutive rats having pointed snouts and small ears on elongated bodies with slender usually hairless tails
From this reading “Frederick Warne & Co., Inc. New York Johnny Town-mouse was born in a cupboard.”
plural of “vegetable” — edible seeds or roots or stems or leaves or bulbs or tubers or nonsweet fruits of any of numerous herbaceous plant
From this reading “The gardener sent vegetables to town once a week by carrier; he packed them in a big hamper.”
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 Frederick Warne & Co., Inc. New York Johnny Town-mouse was born in a cupboard.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading Author of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit," &c.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading The gardener sent vegetables to town once a week by carrier; he packed them in a big hamper.
brought into existence
From this reading Frederick Warne & Co., Inc. New York Johnny Town-mouse was born in a cupboard.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Timmy Willie was a little country mouse who went to town by mistake in a hamper.
a degree on the centigrade scale of temperature
From this reading Author of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit," &c.
someone whose employment involves carrying something
From this reading The gardener sent vegetables to town once a week by carrier; he packed them in a big hamper.
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading Frederick Warne & Co., Inc. New York Johnny Town-mouse was born in a cupboard.
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading Timmy Willie was a little country mouse who went to town by mistake in a hamper.
a small room (or recess) or cabinet used for storage space
From this reading Frederick Warne & Co., Inc. New York Johnny Town-mouse was born in a cupboard.
a town in northern Maryland to the west of Baltimore
From this reading Frederick Warne & Co., Inc. New York Johnny Town-mouse was born in a cupboard.
a plot of ground where plants are cultivated
From this reading Timmy Willie was born in a garden.
someone who takes care of a garden
From this reading The gardener sent vegetables to town once a week by carrier; he packed them in a big hamper.
prevent the progress or free movement of
From this reading Timmy Willie was a little country mouse who went to town by mistake in a hamper.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The gardener sent vegetables to town once a week by carrier; he packed them in a big hamper.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Frederick Warne & Co., Inc. New York Johnny Town-mouse was born in a cupboard.
a heterogeneous collection of groups united in their opposition to Saddam Hussein's government of Iraq; formed in 1992 it is comprised of Sunni and Shiite Arabs and Kurds who hope to build a new government
From this reading Frederick Warne & Co., Inc. New York Johnny Town-mouse was born in a cupboard.
“Johnny” was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; “greyback” derived from their grey Confederate uniforms
From this reading Frederick Warne & Co., Inc. New York Johnny Town-mouse was born in a cupboard.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Timmy Willie was a little country mouse who went to town by mistake in a hamper.
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading Timmy Willie was a little country mouse who went to town by mistake in a hamper.
any of numerous small rodents typically resembling diminutive rats having pointed snouts and small ears on elongated bodies with slender usually hairless tails
From this reading Timmy Willie was a little country mouse who went to town by mistake in a hamper.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading Frederick Warne & Co., Inc. New York Johnny Town-mouse was born in a cupboard.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Author of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit," &c.
on one occasion
From this reading The gardener sent vegetables to town once a week by carrier; he packed them in a big hamper.
extremely crowed or filled to capacity
From this reading The gardener sent vegetables to town once a week by carrier; he packed them in a big hamper.
disciple of Jesus and leader of the Apostles; regarded by Catholics as the vicar of Christ on earth and first Pope
From this reading Author of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit," &c.
any of various burrowing animals of the family Leporidae having long ears and short tails; some domesticated and raised for pets or food
From this reading Author of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit," &c.
100 senti equal 1 kroon in Estonia
From this reading The gardener sent vegetables to town once a week by carrier; he packed them in a big hamper.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading Author of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit," &c.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Author of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit," &c.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The gardener sent vegetables to town once a week by carrier; he packed them in a big hamper.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Timmy Willie was born in a garden.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Timmy Willie was a little country mouse who went to town by mistake in a hamper.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading Timmy Willie was a little country mouse who went to town by mistake in a hamper.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Frederick Warne & Co., Inc. New York Johnny Town-mouse was born in a cupboard.
plural of “vegetable” — edible seeds or roots or stems or leaves or bulbs or tubers or nonsweet fruits of any of numerous herbaceous plant
From this reading The gardener sent vegetables to town once a week by carrier; he packed them in a big hamper.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Frederick Warne & Co., Inc. New York Johnny Town-mouse was born in a cupboard.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Frederick Warne & Co., Inc. New York Johnny Town-mouse was born in a cupboard.
any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading The gardener sent vegetables to town once a week by carrier; he packed them in a big hamper.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Timmy Willie was a little country mouse who went to town by mistake in a hamper.
which person or people
From this reading Timmy Willie was a little country mouse who went to town by mistake in a hamper.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Timmy Willie was born in a garden.
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading Frederick Warne & Co., Inc. New York Johnny Town-mouse was born in a cupboard.
Chapter 1 of The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse by Beatrix Potter holds 86 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 1 holds 86 sentences of The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse, unabridged, divided into 18 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse by Beatrix Potter exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 86 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 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.
Common questions about reading The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse by Beatrix Potter on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 86 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #15284 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #15284, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 7 minutes of reading across 18 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse 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 Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
