Chapter 15 of The Tale of Timber Town is here in full — 172 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of The Tale of Timber Town is here in full — 172 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Robbery of the Mails. The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters. "Ahoy! there." "Comin', comin'. I've only bin waitin', this 'arf hour."
Chapter 15 of The Tale of Timber Town is here in full — 172 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/34 · 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.
a container; usually has a lid
From this reading “I've only bin waitin', this 'arf hour."”
plural of “mail” — the bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service
From this reading “The Robbery of the Mails.”
the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration
From this reading “The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters.”
a small wave on the surface of a liquid
From this reading “The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters.”
larceny by threat of violence
From this reading “The Robbery of the Mails.”
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading “The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters.”
United States actress and singer (1896-1977)
From this reading “The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters.”
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading “The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters.”
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 The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ahoy! there."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I've only bin waitin', this 'arf hour."
a container; usually has a lid
From this reading I've only bin waitin', this 'arf hour."
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Comin', comin'.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters.
destroyed or killed
From this reading The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading I've only bin waitin', this 'arf hour."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I've only bin waitin', this 'arf hour."
plural of “mail” — the bags of letters and packages that are transported by the postal service
From this reading The Robbery of the Mails.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The Robbery of the Mails.
and nothing more
From this reading I've only bin waitin', this 'arf hour."
the property of sound that varies with variation in the frequency of vibration
From this reading The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters.
a small wave on the surface of a liquid
From this reading The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters.
larceny by threat of violence
From this reading The Robbery of the Mails.
being excited or provoked to the expression of an emotion
From this reading The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Robbery of the Mails.
in or at that place or location
From this reading "Ahoy! there."
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading I've only bin waitin', this 'arf hour."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I've only bin waitin', this 'arf hour."
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters.
United States actress and singer (1896-1977)
From this reading The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading The night was pitch dark; the wind had gone to rest, and not a ripple stirred the face of the black waters.
Chapter 15 of The Tale of Timber Town by Alfred A. (Alfred Augustus) Grace holds 172 sentences, grouped into 35 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 15 holds 172 sentences of The Tale of Timber Town, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of The Tale of Timber Town by Alfred A. (Alfred Augustus) Grace exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 172 sentences, grouped into 35 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 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 35 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 15 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 Timber Town by Alfred A. (Alfred Augustus) Grace on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7529 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #28906 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #28906, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1506 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Tale of Timber Town section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Tale of Timber Town 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 Timber Town, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
