Chapter 1 of The White Christmas and other Merry is here in full — 355 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The White Christmas and other Merry is here in full — 355 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Maiden, I fain would stop thee in thy flight-- Can'st tell where we could lodge this winter night? RUTH. That inn is crowded. There's one upon the hill. JOSEPH.
Chapter 1 of The White Christmas and other Merry is here in full — 355 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 39/71 · 5 reading units · Lines 191–195
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.
overfilled or compacted or concentrated
From this reading “That inn is crowded.”
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?”
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?”
a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
From this reading “That inn is crowded.”
leader of the Nez Perce in their retreat from United States troops (1840-1904)
From this reading “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?”
United States professional baseball player famous for hitting home runs (1895-1948)
From this reading “RUTH.”
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.
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?
overfilled or compacted or concentrated
From this reading That inn is crowded.
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?
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?
a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading There's one upon the hill.
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?
a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers
From this reading That inn is crowded.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading That inn is crowded.
leader of the Nez Perce in their retreat from United States troops (1840-1904)
From this reading 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 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?
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading There's one upon the hill.
United States professional baseball player famous for hitting home runs (1895-1948)
From this reading RUTH.
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?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That inn is crowded.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading There's one upon the hill.
an old word for “you”, as the object, 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?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There's one upon the hill.
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?
a formal word for “on”
From this reading There's one upon the hill.
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?
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?
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 355 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 355 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 355 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.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The White Christmas and other Merry, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
