Chapter 2 of The Talking Thrush, and Other Tales from India is here in full — 442 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Talking Thrush, and Other Tales from India is here in full — 442 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Well," said the Quail, "I don't mind telling you three of them now. The first is: Fast caught, fast keep; never let a thing go when once you have got it. The second is: He is a fool that believes everything he hears. And the third is this: It's of no use crying over spilt milk." The Fowler thought these very sensible maxims.
Chapter 2 of The Talking Thrush, and Other Tales from India is here in full — 442 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 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.
third-person singular of “believe” — accept as true; take to be true
From this reading “The second is: He is a fool that believes everything he hears.”
English lexicographer who wrote a well-known book on English usage (1858-1933)
From this reading “The Fowler thought these very sensible maxims.”
third-person singular of “hear” — perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading “The second is: He is a fool that believes everything he hears.”
plural of “maxim” — a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits
From this reading “The Fowler thought these very sensible maxims.”
a white nutritious liquid secreted by mammals and used as food by human beings
From this reading “And the third is this: It's of no use crying over spilt milk."”
draw back, as with fear or pain
From this reading “"Well," said the Quail, "I don't mind telling you three of them now.”
showing reason or sound judgment
From this reading “The Fowler thought these very sensible maxims.”
inflected form of “spill” — cause or allow (a liquid substance) to run or flow from a container
From this reading “And the third is this: It's of no use crying over spilt milk."”
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 “And the third is this: It's of no use crying over spilt milk."”
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 first is: Fast caught, fast keep; never let a thing go when once you have got it.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And the third is this: It's of no use crying over spilt milk."
third-person singular of “believe” — accept as true; take to be true
From this reading The second is: He is a fool that believes everything he hears.
inflected form of “catch” — discover or come upon accidentally, suddenly, or unexpectedly; catch somebody doing something or in a certain state
From this reading The first is: Fast caught, fast keep; never let a thing go when once you have got it.
demanding attention
From this reading And the third is this: It's of no use crying over spilt milk."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Well," said the Quail, "I don't mind telling you three of them now.
all things; all of a situation
From this reading The second is: He is a fool that believes everything he hears.
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading The first is: Fast caught, fast keep; never let a thing go when once you have got it.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading The first is: Fast caught, fast keep; never let a thing go when once you have got it.
a person who lacks good judgment
From this reading The second is: He is a fool that believes everything he hears.
English lexicographer who wrote a well-known book on English usage (1858-1933)
From this reading The Fowler thought these very sensible maxims.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading The first is: Fast caught, fast keep; never let a thing go when once you have got it.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading The first is: Fast caught, fast keep; never let a thing go when once you have got it.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading The first is: Fast caught, fast keep; never let a thing go when once you have got it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading The second is: He is a fool that believes everything he hears.
third-person singular of “hear” — perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading The second is: He is a fool that believes everything he hears.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Well," said the Quail, "I don't mind telling you three of them now.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The first is: Fast caught, fast keep; never let a thing go when once you have got it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The first is: Fast caught, fast keep; never let a thing go when once you have got it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And the third is this: It's of no use crying over spilt milk."
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading The first is: Fast caught, fast keep; never let a thing go when once you have got it.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading The first is: Fast caught, fast keep; never let a thing go when once you have got it.
plural of “maxim” — a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits
From this reading The Fowler thought these very sensible maxims.
a white nutritious liquid secreted by mammals and used as food by human beings
From this reading And the third is this: It's of no use crying over spilt milk."
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading "Well," said the Quail, "I don't mind telling you three of them now.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading The first is: Fast caught, fast keep; never let a thing go when once you have got it.
not any; not one
From this reading And the third is this: It's of no use crying over spilt milk."
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading "Well," said the Quail, "I don't mind telling you three of them now.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "Well," said the Quail, "I don't mind telling you three of them now.
on one occasion
From this reading The first is: Fast caught, fast keep; never let a thing go when once you have got it.
above and across; more than
From this reading And the third is this: It's of no use crying over spilt milk."
draw back, as with fear or pain
From this reading "Well," said the Quail, "I don't mind telling you three of them now.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "Well," said the Quail, "I don't mind telling you three of them now.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading The second is: He is a fool that believes everything he hears.
showing reason or sound judgment
From this reading The Fowler thought these very sensible maxims.
inflected form of “spill” — cause or allow (a liquid substance) to run or flow from a container
From this reading And the third is this: It's of no use crying over spilt milk."
disclosing unintentionally something concealed
From this reading "Well," said the Quail, "I don't mind telling you three of them now.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The second is: He is a fool that believes everything he hears.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Well," said the Quail, "I don't mind telling you three of them now.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading "Well," said the Quail, "I don't mind telling you three of them now.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading The Fowler thought these very sensible maxims.
a special situation
From this reading The first is: Fast caught, fast keep; never let a thing go when once you have got it.
one of three equal parts of a divisible whole
From this reading And the third is this: It's of no use crying over spilt milk."
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading And the third is this: It's of no use crying over spilt milk."
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading The Fowler thought these very sensible maxims.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading "Well," said the Quail, "I don't mind telling you three of them now.
the act of using
From this reading And the third is this: It's of no use crying over spilt milk."
precisely as stated
From this reading The Fowler thought these very sensible maxims.
(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," said the Quail, "I don't mind telling you three of them now.
at the time that
From this reading The first is: Fast caught, fast keep; never let a thing go when once you have got it.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Well," said the Quail, "I don't mind telling you three of them now.
Chapter 2 of The Talking Thrush, and Other Tales from India by William Crooke holds 442 sentences, grouped into 89 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 442 sentences of The Talking Thrush, and Other Tales from India, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Talking Thrush, and Other Tales from India by William Crooke exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 442 sentences, grouped into 89 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 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 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.
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Yes. All 2500 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30635 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30635, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 208 minutes of reading across 500 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Talking Thrush, and Other Tales from India section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Talking Thrush, and Other Tales from India, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
