Chapter 2 of The Tale of Reddy Woodpecker is here in full — 489 sentences across 98 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Tale of Reddy Woodpecker is here in full — 489 sentences across 98 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Don’t be silly!" she snapped. "Ladies never wear mustaches." "Yes, they do," he replied. "No, they don’t!" she disputed. Well, he saw at once that it was useless to argue with her.
Chapter 2 of The Tale of Reddy Woodpecker is here in full — 489 sentences across 98 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/97 · 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.
present reasons and arguments
From this reading “Well, he saw at once that it was useless to argue with her.”
subject to disagreement and debate
From this reading “"No, they don’t!" she disputed.”
plural of “lady” — a polite name for any woman
From this reading “"Ladies never wear mustaches."”
plural of “mustache” — an unshaved growth of hair on the upper lip
From this reading “"Ladies never wear mustaches."”
ludicrous, foolish
From this reading “"Don’t be silly!" she snapped.”
inflected form of “snap” — utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading “"Don’t be silly!" she snapped.”
having no beneficial use or incapable of functioning usefully
From this reading “Well, he saw at once that it was useless to argue with her.”
be dressed in
From this reading “"Ladies never wear mustaches."”
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.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
In this reading “Well, he saw at once that it was useless to argue with her.”
In this reading “Well, he saw at once that it was useless to argue with her.”
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.
present reasons and arguments
From this reading Well, he saw at once that it was useless to argue with her.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Well, he saw at once that it was useless to argue with her.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading "Don’t be silly!" she snapped.
subject to disagreement and debate
From this reading "No, they don’t!" she disputed.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading "Yes, they do," he replied.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Don’t be silly!" she snapped.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Yes, they do," he replied.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Well, he saw at once that it was useless to argue with her.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Well, he saw at once that it was useless to argue with her.
plural of “lady” — a polite name for any woman
From this reading "Ladies never wear mustaches."
plural of “mustache” — an unshaved growth of hair on the upper lip
From this reading "Ladies never wear mustaches."
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "Ladies never wear mustaches."
not any; not one
From this reading "No, they don’t!" she disputed.
on one occasion
From this reading Well, he saw at once that it was useless to argue with her.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading "Yes, they do," he replied.
cut with a saw
From this reading Well, he saw at once that it was useless to argue with her.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Don’t be silly!" she snapped.
ludicrous, foolish
From this reading "Don’t be silly!" she snapped.
inflected form of “snap” — utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading "Don’t be silly!" she snapped.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Well, he saw at once that it was useless to argue with her.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Yes, they do," he replied.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Well, he saw at once that it was useless to argue with her.
having no beneficial use or incapable of functioning usefully
From this reading Well, he saw at once that it was useless to argue with her.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Well, he saw at once that it was useless to argue with her.
be dressed in
From this reading "Ladies never wear mustaches."
(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, he saw at once that it was useless to argue with her.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Well, he saw at once that it was useless to argue with her.
an affirmative
From this reading "Yes, they do," he replied.
Chapter 2 of The Tale of Reddy Woodpecker by Arthur Scott Bailey holds 489 sentences, grouped into 98 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 2 holds 489 sentences of The Tale of Reddy Woodpecker, unabridged, divided into 98 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Tale of Reddy Woodpecker by Arthur Scott Bailey exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 489 sentences, grouped into 98 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 98 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 98 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 2 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 Reddy Woodpecker by Arthur Scott Bailey on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1452 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43447 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43447, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 121 minutes of reading across 291 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Tale of Reddy Woodpecker section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of The Tale of Reddy Woodpecker 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 Reddy Woodpecker, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
