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.
God's blessing on thy little head, sweet child! Come, Joseph, for the wind now waxes wild. (_Exits L. front._) (JOSEPH _leads her to exit L., then turns and looks off R._) JOSEPH. O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by.
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 41/71 · 5 reading units · Lines 201–205
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 town in eastern Pennsylvania on the Lehigh River to the northwest of Philadelphia; an important center for steel production
From this reading “O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie!”
the formal act of approving
From this reading “God's blessing on thy little head, sweet child!”
an opening that permits escape or release
From this reading “(_Exits L. front._) (JOSEPH _leads her to exit L., then turns and looks off R._) JOSEPH.”
plural of “exit” — an opening that permits escape or release
possessive form of “god” — the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading “God's blessing on thy little head, sweet child!”
leader of the Nez Perce in their retreat from United States troops (1840-1904)
From this reading “Come, Joseph, for the wind now waxes wild.”
plural of “lead” — an advantage held by a competitor in a race
plural of “wax” — any of various substances of either mineral origin or plant or animal origin; they are solid at normal temperatures and insoluble in water
From this reading “Come, Joseph, for the wind now waxes wild.”
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.
higher than, or over, something
From this reading Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading (_Exits L. front._) (JOSEPH _leads her to exit L., then turns and looks off R._) JOSEPH.
a town in eastern Pennsylvania on the Lehigh River to the northwest of Philadelphia; an important center for steel production
From this reading O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie!
the formal act of approving
From this reading God's blessing on thy little head, sweet child!
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by.
a young person of either sex
From this reading God's blessing on thy little head, sweet child!
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Come, Joseph, for the wind now waxes wild.
relatively deep or strong; affecting one deeply
From this reading Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by.
untroubled by dreams
From this reading Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by.
an opening that permits escape or release
From this reading (_Exits L. front._) (JOSEPH _leads her to exit L., then turns and looks off R._) JOSEPH.
plural of “exit” — an opening that permits escape or release
From this reading (_Exits L. front._) (JOSEPH _leads her to exit L., then turns and looks off R._) JOSEPH.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Come, Joseph, for the wind now waxes wild.
the side that is forward or prominent
From this reading (_Exits L. front._) (JOSEPH _leads her to exit L., then turns and looks off R._) JOSEPH.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by.
possessive form of “god” — the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading God's blessing on thy little head, sweet child!
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading God's blessing on thy little head, sweet child!
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading (_Exits L. front._) (JOSEPH _leads her to exit L., then turns and looks off R._) JOSEPH.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie!
leader of the Nez Perce in their retreat from United States troops (1840-1904)
From this reading Come, Joseph, for the wind now waxes wild.
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 (_Exits L. front._) (JOSEPH _leads her to exit L., then turns and looks off R._) JOSEPH.
plural of “lead” — an advantage held by a competitor in a race
From this reading (_Exits L. front._) (JOSEPH _leads her to exit L., then turns and looks off R._) JOSEPH.
be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
From this reading O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie!
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading God's blessing on thy little head, sweet child!
plural of “look” — the feelings expressed on a person's face
From this reading (_Exits L. front._) (JOSEPH _leads her to exit L., then turns and looks off R._) JOSEPH.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Come, Joseph, for the wind now waxes wild.
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie!
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading (_Exits L. front._) (JOSEPH _leads her to exit L., then turns and looks off R._) JOSEPH.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading God's blessing on thy little head, sweet child!
a unit of radiation exposure; the dose of ionizing radiation that will produce 1 electrostatic unit of electricity in 1 cc of dry air
From this reading (_Exits L. front._) (JOSEPH _leads her to exit L., then turns and looks off R._) JOSEPH.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie!
marked by absence of sound
From this reading Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by.
plural of “star” — (astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by.
not in physical motion
From this reading O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie!
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading God's blessing on thy little head, sweet child!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Come, Joseph, for the wind now waxes wild.
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie!
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading (_Exits L. front._) (JOSEPH _leads her to exit L., then turns and looks off R._) JOSEPH.
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading God's blessing on thy little head, sweet child!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading (_Exits L. front._) (JOSEPH _leads her to exit L., then turns and looks off R._) JOSEPH.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie!
plural of “turn” — a circular segment of a curve
From this reading (_Exits L. front._) (JOSEPH _leads her to exit L., then turns and looks off R._) JOSEPH.
plural of “wax” — any of various substances of either mineral origin or plant or animal origin; they are solid at normal temperatures and insoluble in water
From this reading Come, Joseph, for the wind now waxes wild.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie!
marked by extreme lack of restraint or control
From this reading Come, Joseph, for the wind now waxes wild.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading Come, Joseph, for the wind now waxes wild.
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.
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 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 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 0 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.
