Chapter 5 of Toto, the Bustling Beaver is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Toto, the Bustling Beaver is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps. He was not at all bustling now, however. He was not doing any work. Instead he was watching to see if the tramps were going to do any work. But you know better what tramps are than did Toto.
Chapter 5 of Toto, the Bustling Beaver is here in full — 134 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
the soft brown fur of the beaver
From this reading “TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.”
a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems
From this reading “TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.”
full of energetic and noisy activity
From this reading “TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.”
-ing form of “crouch” — bend one's back forward from the waist on down
From this reading “TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.”
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading “TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.”
plural of “see” — the seat within a bishop's diocese where his cathedral is located
From this reading “TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.”
plural of “tramp” — a vagrant
From this reading “TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.”
the act of observing; taking a patient look
From this reading “Instead he was watching to see if the tramps were going to do any work.”
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 “TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.”
In this reading “TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.”
In this reading “But you know better what tramps are than did Toto.”
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 TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.
(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 He was not at all bustling now, however.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading He was not doing any work.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading But you know better what tramps are than did Toto.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He was not at all bustling now, however.
the soft brown fur of the beaver
From this reading TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading But you know better what tramps are than did Toto.
a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems
From this reading TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.
full of energetic and noisy activity
From this reading TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But you know better what tramps are than did Toto.
-ing form of “crouch” — bend one's back forward from the waist on down
From this reading TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading But you know better what tramps are than did Toto.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Instead he was watching to see if the tramps were going to do any work.
-ing form of “do” — engage in
From this reading He was not doing any work.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.
the act of departing
From this reading Instead he was watching to see if the tramps were going to do any work.
green color or pigment; resembling the color of growing grass
From this reading TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was not at all bustling now, however.
used to add a contrasting statement
From this reading He was not at all bustling now, however.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Instead he was watching to see if the tramps were going to do any work.
in place of, or as an alternative to
From this reading Instead he was watching to see if the tramps were going to do any work.
(especially of promises or contracts) not violated or disregarded
From this reading TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading But you know better what tramps are than did Toto.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He was not at all bustling now, however.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading He was not at all bustling now, however.
beyond or deviating from the usual or expected
From this reading TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.
characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity
From this reading TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Instead he was watching to see if the tramps were going to do any work.
plural of “see” — the seat within a bishop's diocese where his cathedral is located
From this reading TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading But you know better what tramps are than did Toto.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Instead he was watching to see if the tramps were going to do any work.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.
plural of “tramp” — a vagrant
From this reading TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.
precisely as stated
From this reading TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was not at all bustling now, however.
past form of “watch” — look attentively
From this reading TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept very quiet and watched the tramps.
the act of observing; taking a patient look
From this reading Instead he was watching to see if the tramps were going to do any work.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Instead he was watching to see if the tramps were going to do any work.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading But you know better what tramps are than did Toto.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading He was not doing any work.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading But you know better what tramps are than did Toto.
Chapter 5 of Toto, the Bustling Beaver by Richard Barnum holds 134 sentences, grouped into 27 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 5 holds 134 sentences of Toto, the Bustling Beaver, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Toto, the Bustling Beaver by Richard Barnum exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 134 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 5 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 Toto, the Bustling Beaver by Richard Barnum on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1661 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #62794 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #62794, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 138 minutes of reading across 333 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Toto, the Bustling Beaver section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 12 chapters of Toto, the Bustling Beaver 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 Toto, the Bustling Beaver, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
