Chapter 2 of The Wishing-Stone Stories is here in full — 468 sentences across 94 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Wishing-Stone Stories is here in full — 468 sentences across 94 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“I wish I were a mink,” said Tommy, slowly and very earnestly. Of course you know what happened then. The same thing happened that had happened before on the old wishing-stone. Tommy was the very thing he had wished to be. He was a mink.
Chapter 2 of The Wishing-Stone Stories is here in full — 468 sentences across 94 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/93 · 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.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading “Of course you know what happened then.”
in a serious manner
From this reading ““I wish I were a mink,” said Tommy, slowly and very earnestly.”
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading “Of course you know what happened then.”
the expensive fur of a mink
From this reading ““I wish I were a mink,” said Tommy, slowly and very earnestly.”
Identical; not different.
From this reading “The same thing happened that had happened before on the old wishing-stone.”
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading ““I wish I were a mink,” said Tommy, slowly and very earnestly.”
hope for; have a wish
From this reading ““I wish I were a mink,” said Tommy, slowly and very earnestly.”
past form of “wish” — hope for; have a wish
From this reading “Tommy was the very thing he had wished to be.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “The same thing happened that had happened before on the old wishing-stone.”
as might be expected
In this reading “Of course you know what happened then.”
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 “I wish I were a mink,” said Tommy, slowly and very earnestly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “I wish I were a mink,” said Tommy, slowly and very earnestly.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Tommy was the very thing he had wished to be.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading The same thing happened that had happened before on the old wishing-stone.
education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings
From this reading Of course you know what happened then.
in a serious manner
From this reading “I wish I were a mink,” said Tommy, slowly and very earnestly.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading The same thing happened that had happened before on the old wishing-stone.
past form of “happen” — come to pass
From this reading Of course you know what happened then.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Tommy was the very thing he had wished to be.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “I wish I were a mink,” said Tommy, slowly and very earnestly.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Of course you know what happened then.
the expensive fur of a mink
From this reading “I wish I were a mink,” said Tommy, slowly and very earnestly.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Of course you know what happened then.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading The same thing happened that had happened before on the old wishing-stone.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading The same thing happened that had happened before on the old wishing-stone.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “I wish I were a mink,” said Tommy, slowly and very earnestly.
Identical; not different.
From this reading The same thing happened that had happened before on the old wishing-stone.
without speed (“slow” is sometimes used informally for “slowly”)
From this reading “I wish I were a mink,” said Tommy, slowly and very earnestly.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The same thing happened that had happened before on the old wishing-stone.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The same thing happened that had happened before on the old wishing-stone.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Of course you know what happened then.
a special situation
From this reading The same thing happened that had happened before on the old wishing-stone.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Tommy was the very thing he had wished to be.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I wish I were a mink,” said Tommy, slowly and very earnestly.
precisely as stated
From this reading “I wish I were a mink,” said Tommy, slowly and very earnestly.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Tommy was the very thing he had wished to be.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “I wish I were a mink,” said Tommy, slowly and very earnestly.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Of course you know what happened then.
hope for; have a wish
From this reading “I wish I were a mink,” said Tommy, slowly and very earnestly.
past form of “wish” — hope for; have a wish
From this reading Tommy was the very thing he had wished to be.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The same thing happened that had happened before on the old wishing-stone.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Of course you know what happened then.
Chapter 2 of The Wishing-Stone Stories by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess holds 468 sentences, grouped into 94 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 2 holds 468 sentences of The Wishing-Stone Stories, unabridged, divided into 94 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Wishing-Stone Stories by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 468 sentences, grouped into 94 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 94 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 94 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 2 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 Wishing-Stone Stories by Thornton W. (Thornton Waldo) Burgess on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2780 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63417 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63417, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 231 minutes of reading across 556 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Wishing-Stone Stories section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Wishing-Stone Stories 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 Wishing-Stone Stories, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
