Chapter 1 of The White Christmas and other Merry is here in full — 353 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The White Christmas and other Merry is here in full — 353 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Now rest thee here a while. We've traveled far, full many a weary mile. _Enter_ RUTH _from rear L., hurrying along._ JOSEPH. Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night? RUTH.
Chapter 1 of The White Christmas and other Merry is here in full — 353 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 38/70 · 5 reading units · Lines 186–190
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.
having made preparations
From this reading “Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night?”
moving with great haste
From this reading “_Enter_ RUTH _from rear L., hurrying along._ JOSEPH.”
leader of the Nez Perce in their retreat from United States troops (1840-1904)
From this reading “_Enter_ RUTH _from rear L., hurrying along._ JOSEPH.”
be a lodger; stay temporarily
From this reading “Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night?”
an unmarried girl (especially a virgin)
From this reading “Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night?”
the back of a military formation or procession
From this reading “_Enter_ RUTH _from rear L., hurrying along._ JOSEPH.”
United States professional baseball player famous for hitting home runs (1895-1948)
From this reading “_Enter_ RUTH _from rear L., hurrying along._ JOSEPH.”
traveled over or through; sometimes used as a combining term
From this reading “We've traveled far, full many a weary mile.”
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 Now rest thee here a while.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading _Enter_ RUTH _from rear L., hurrying along._ JOSEPH.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night?
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night?
to come or go into
From this reading _Enter_ RUTH _from rear L., hurrying along._ JOSEPH.
having made preparations
From this reading Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night?
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading We've traveled far, full many a weary mile.
a formation of aircraft in flight
From this reading Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night?
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading _Enter_ RUTH _from rear L., hurrying along._ JOSEPH.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading We've traveled far, full many a weary mile.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Now rest thee here a while.
moving with great haste
From this reading _Enter_ RUTH _from rear L., hurrying along._ JOSEPH.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night?
leader of the Nez Perce in their retreat from United States troops (1840-1904)
From this reading _Enter_ RUTH _from rear L., hurrying along._ JOSEPH.
a metric unit of capacity, formerly defined as the volume of one kilogram of pure water under standard conditions; now equal to 1,000 cubic centimeters (or approximately 1.75 pints)
From this reading _Enter_ RUTH _from rear L., hurrying along._ JOSEPH.
be a lodger; stay temporarily
From this reading Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night?
an unmarried girl (especially a virgin)
From this reading Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night?
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading We've traveled far, full many a weary mile.
a unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet; exactly 1609.344 meters
From this reading We've traveled far, full many a weary mile.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night?
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now rest thee here a while.
the back of a military formation or procession
From this reading _Enter_ RUTH _from rear L., hurrying along._ JOSEPH.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading Now rest thee here a while.
United States professional baseball player famous for hitting home runs (1895-1948)
From this reading _Enter_ RUTH _from rear L., hurrying along._ JOSEPH.
come to a halt, stop moving
From this reading Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night?
express in words
From this reading Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night?
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading Now rest thee here a while.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night?
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night?
traveled over or through; sometimes used as a combining term
From this reading We've traveled far, full many a weary mile.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We've traveled far, full many a weary mile.
exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress
From this reading We've traveled far, full many a weary mile.
in or at the place that
From this reading Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night?
during the time that
From this reading Now rest thee here a while.
the coldest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox
From this reading Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night?
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night?
Chapter 1 of The White Christmas and other Merry by Walter Ben Hare holds 353 sentences, grouped into 71 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 353 sentences of The White Christmas and other Merry, unabridged, divided into 71 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The White Christmas and other Merry by Walter Ben Hare exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 353 sentences, grouped into 71 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 71 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 71 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 White Christmas and other Merry by Walter Ben Hare on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4783 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #19826 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #19826, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 398 minutes of reading across 957 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The White Christmas and other Merry section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of The White Christmas and other Merry 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 White Christmas and other Merry, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
