Chapter 20 of The Ward of King Canute is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of The Ward of King Canute is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Fair shall speak And money offer, Who would obtain a woman’s love. Hávamál. It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water. Looking, she smiled,—and small wonder! Below her, framed in green rushes, was the reflection of a high-born maiden dressed according to her rank.
Chapter 20 of The Ward of King Canute is here in full — 138 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/27 · 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.
movement that causes the formation of a curve
From this reading “It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water.”
a region marking a boundary
From this reading “It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water.”
provided with a frame
From this reading “Below her, framed in green rushes, was the reflection of a high-born maiden dressed according to her rank.”
come into possession of
From this reading “Fair shall speak And money offer, Who would obtain a woman’s love.”
an excavation that is (usually) filled with water
From this reading “It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water.”
a calm, lengthy, intent consideration
From this reading “Below her, framed in green rushes, was the reflection of a high-born maiden dressed according to her rank.”
plural of “rush” — the act of moving hurriedly and in a careless manner
From this reading “Below her, framed in green rushes, was the reflection of a high-born maiden dressed according to her rank.”
being of delicate or slender build
From this reading “It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water.”
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 Fair shall speak And money offer, Who would obtain a woman’s love.
(followed by “to”) in agreement with or accordant with
From this reading Below her, framed in green rushes, was the reflection of a high-born maiden dressed according to her rank.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Fair shall speak And money offer, Who would obtain a woman’s love.
at or to a lower level than something
From this reading Below her, framed in green rushes, was the reflection of a high-born maiden dressed according to her rank.
movement that causes the formation of a curve
From this reading It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water.
a region marking a boundary
From this reading It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water.
having hair of a dark color
From this reading It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water.
dressed or clothed especially in fine attire; often used in combination
From this reading Below her, framed in green rushes, was the reflection of a high-born maiden dressed according to her rank.
the boundary of a surface
From this reading It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water.
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading Fair shall speak And money offer, Who would obtain a woman’s love.
the trees and other plants in a large densely wooded area
From this reading It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water.
provided with a frame
From this reading Below her, framed in green rushes, was the reflection of a high-born maiden dressed according to her rank.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water.
a young female
From this reading It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water.
green color or pigment; resembling the color of growing grass
From this reading Below her, framed in green rushes, was the reflection of a high-born maiden dressed according to her rank.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Below her, framed in green rushes, was the reflection of a high-born maiden dressed according to her rank.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Below her, framed in green rushes, was the reflection of a high-born maiden dressed according to her rank.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hávamál.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading Looking, she smiled,—and small wonder!
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading Fair shall speak And money offer, Who would obtain a woman’s love.
an unmarried girl (especially a virgin)
From this reading Below her, framed in green rushes, was the reflection of a high-born maiden dressed according to her rank.
the most common medium of exchange; functions as legal tender
From this reading Fair shall speak And money offer, Who would obtain a woman’s love.
come into possession of
From this reading Fair shall speak And money offer, Who would obtain a woman’s love.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water.
make available or accessible, provide or furnish
From this reading Fair shall speak And money offer, Who would obtain a woman’s love.
an excavation that is (usually) filled with water
From this reading It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water.
a row or line of people (especially soldiers or police) standing abreast of one another
From this reading Below her, framed in green rushes, was the reflection of a high-born maiden dressed according to her rank.
a calm, lengthy, intent consideration
From this reading Below her, framed in green rushes, was the reflection of a high-born maiden dressed according to her rank.
plural of “rush” — the act of moving hurriedly and in a careless manner
From this reading Below her, framed in green rushes, was the reflection of a high-born maiden dressed according to her rank.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading Fair shall speak And money offer, Who would obtain a woman’s love.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Looking, she smiled,—and small wonder!
being of delicate or slender build
From this reading It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Looking, she smiled,—and small wonder!
past form of “smile” — change one's facial expression by spreading the lips, often to signal pleasure
From this reading Looking, she smiled,—and small wonder!
express in speech
From this reading Fair shall speak And money offer, Who would obtain a woman’s love.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading It was the edge of a forest pool, and a slender dark-haired girl bending from the brink to see herself in the water.
which person or people
From this reading Fair shall speak And money offer, Who would obtain a woman’s love.
possessive form of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading Fair shall speak And money offer, Who would obtain a woman’s love.
the feeling aroused by something strange and surprising
From this reading Looking, she smiled,—and small wonder!
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Fair shall speak And money offer, Who would obtain a woman’s love.
Chapter 20 of The Ward of King Canute by Ottilie A. (Ottilia Adelina) Liljencrantz holds 138 sentences, grouped into 28 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.
Chapter 20 holds 138 sentences of The Ward of King Canute, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of The Ward of King Canute by Ottilie A. (Ottilia Adelina) Liljencrantz exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 138 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 20 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 Ward of King Canute by Ottilie A. (Ottilia Adelina) Liljencrantz on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5200 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3323 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3323, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 433 minutes of reading across 1040 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Ward of King Canute section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of The Ward of King Canute 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 Ward of King Canute, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
