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.
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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.
SIMEON. Yea, all ye lie down and take your rest, I'll keep the watch alone, this night is blest. (_The others recline at the rear._) ANNA (_comes to_ SIMEON). Here, take the little sheep and keep it warm. (_Lies down._) SIMEON.
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 59/70 · 5 reading units · Lines 291–295
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 former copper coin of Pakistan and India
From this reading “(_The others recline at the rear._) ANNA (_comes to_ SIMEON).”
highly favored or fortunate (as e.g. by divine grace)
From this reading “Yea, all ye lie down and take your rest, I'll keep the watch alone, this night is blest.”
plural of “lie” — a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth
the back of a military formation or procession
From this reading “(_The others recline at the rear._) ANNA (_comes to_ SIMEON).”
move the upper body backwards and down
From this reading “(_The others recline at the rear._) ANNA (_comes to_ SIMEON).”
woolly usually horned ruminant mammal related to the goat
From this reading “Here, take the little sheep and keep it warm.”
(Old Testament) the 2nd son of Jacob and one of the 12 patriarchs of Israel
From this reading “SIMEON.”
an old word for “yes”
From this reading “Yea, all ye lie down and take your rest, I'll keep the watch alone, this night is blest.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Yea, all ye lie down and take your rest, I'll keep the watch alone, this night is blest.
Having no one else present.
From this reading Yea, all ye lie down and take your rest, I'll keep the watch alone, this night is blest.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Yea, all ye lie down and take your rest, I'll keep the watch alone, this night is blest.
a former copper coin of Pakistan and India
From this reading (_The others recline at the rear._) ANNA (_comes to_ SIMEON).
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading (_The others recline at the rear._) ANNA (_comes to_ SIMEON).
highly favored or fortunate (as e.g. by divine grace)
From this reading Yea, all ye lie down and take your rest, I'll keep the watch alone, this night is blest.
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading (_The others recline at the rear._) ANNA (_comes to_ SIMEON).
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Yea, all ye lie down and take your rest, I'll keep the watch alone, this night is blest.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Here, take the little sheep and keep it warm.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Yea, all ye lie down and take your rest, I'll keep the watch alone, this night is blest.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Yea, all ye lie down and take your rest, I'll keep the watch alone, this night is blest.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Here, take the little sheep and keep it warm.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading Yea, all ye lie down and take your rest, I'll keep the watch alone, this night is blest.
be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
From this reading Yea, all ye lie down and take your rest, I'll keep the watch alone, this night is blest.
plural of “lie” — a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth
From this reading (_Lies down._) SIMEON.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Here, take the little sheep and keep it warm.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading Yea, all ye lie down and take your rest, I'll keep the watch alone, this night is blest.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading (_The others recline at the rear._) ANNA (_comes to_ SIMEON).
the back of a military formation or procession
From this reading (_The others recline at the rear._) ANNA (_comes to_ SIMEON).
move the upper body backwards and down
From this reading (_The others recline at the rear._) ANNA (_comes to_ SIMEON).
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading Yea, all ye lie down and take your rest, I'll keep the watch alone, this night is blest.
woolly usually horned ruminant mammal related to the goat
From this reading Here, take the little sheep and keep it warm.
(Old Testament) the 2nd son of Jacob and one of the 12 patriarchs of Israel
From this reading SIMEON.
carry out
From this reading Yea, all ye lie down and take your rest, I'll keep the watch alone, this night is blest.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Yea, all ye lie down and take your rest, I'll keep the watch alone, this night is blest.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Yea, all ye lie down and take your rest, I'll keep the watch alone, this night is blest.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading (_The others recline at the rear._) ANNA (_comes to_ SIMEON).
having or producing a comfortable and agreeable degree of heat or imparting or maintaining heat
From this reading Here, take the little sheep and keep it warm.
look attentively
From this reading Yea, all ye lie down and take your rest, I'll keep the watch alone, this night is blest.
an old word for “you”, speaking to more than one person
From this reading Yea, all ye lie down and take your rest, I'll keep the watch alone, this night is blest.
an old word for “yes”
From this reading Yea, all ye lie down and take your rest, I'll keep the watch alone, this night is blest.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Yea, all ye lie down and take your rest, I'll keep the watch alone, this night is blest.
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.
