Uncle Wiggily in Wonderland

Chapter XX

Chapter 20 of Uncle Wiggily in Wonderland is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Howard Roger Garis • Curated US English Learning Edition

Cover illustration for Uncle Wiggily in Wonderland

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

UNCLE WIGGILY AND HUMPTY DUMPTY "Excuse me," spoke a gentle voice behind Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy, the muskrat lady housekeeper, who was cleaning the steps of the hollow stump bungalow one morning.

"Excuse me, but can Uncle Wiggily be out to play?"

"Be out to play?" repeated Nurse Jane.

"Do you mean play with you?" and the muskrat lady turned to see a little girl, with flaxen hair, standing at the foot of the steps.

"Yes, play with me, if you please," said the little girl.

Narrator

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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter XX Reading 1/15

Uncle Wiggily in Wonderland

Chapter XX

Chapter 20 of Uncle Wiggily in Wonderland is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/15 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

UNCLE WIGGILY AND HUMPTY DUMPTY "Excuse me," spoke a gentle voice behind Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy, the muskrat lady housekeeper, who was cleaning the steps of the hollow stump bungalow one morning.

Line 2

"Excuse me, but can Uncle Wiggily be out to play?"

Line 3

"Be out to play?" repeated Nurse Jane.

Line 4

"Do you mean play with you?" and the muskrat lady turned to see a little girl, with flaxen hair, standing at the foot of the steps.

Line 5

"Yes, play with me, if you please," said the little girl.

/jes pleɪ wɪð miː ɪf juː pliːz sed ðə ˈlɪtəl ɡɜːrl/

Learner Dictionary

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.

bungalow noun US /ˈbʌŋɡəloʊ/

a small house with a single story

From this reading “UNCLE WIGGILY AND HUMPTY DUMPTY "Excuse me," spoke a gentle voice behind Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy, the muskrat lady housekeeper, who was cleaning the steps of the hollow stump bungalow one morning.”

cleaning noun US /ˈkliːnɪŋ/

the act of making something clean

Fuzzy adjective US /ˈfʌzi/

covering with fine light hairs

hollow adjective US /ˈhɑːloʊ/

not solid; having a space or gap or cavity

housekeeper noun US /ˈhaʊskiːpər/

a servant who is employed to perform domestic task in a household

muskrat noun US /ˈmʌskræt/

the brown fur of a muskrat

Nurse verb US /nɜːrs/

try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury

stump noun US /stʌmp/

the base part of a tree that remains standing after the tree has been felled

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

flaxen hair adjective + noun

In this reading “"Do you mean play with you?" and the muskrat lady turned to see a little girl, with flaxen hair, standing at the foot of the steps.”

hollow stump adjective + noun

In this reading “UNCLE WIGGILY AND HUMPTY DUMPTY "Excuse me," spoke a gentle voice behind Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy, the muskrat lady housekeeper, who was cleaning the steps of the hollow stump bungalow one morning.”

little girl adjective + noun

a youthful female person

In this reading “"Do you mean play with you?" and the muskrat lady turned to see a little girl, with flaxen hair, standing at the foot of the steps.”

gentle voice adjective + noun

at the foot preposition + article + noun counted as “at … foot”

In this reading “"Do you mean play with you?" and the muskrat lady turned to see a little girl, with flaxen hair, standing at the foot of the steps.”

play with verb + particle

In this reading “"Do you mean play with you?" and the muskrat lady turned to see a little girl, with flaxen hair, standing at the foot of the steps.”

All words in this reading · 54

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading UNCLE WIGGILY AND HUMPTY DUMPTY "Excuse me," spoke a gentle voice behind Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy, the muskrat lady housekeeper, who was cleaning the steps of the hollow stump bungalow one morning.

ANDconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading "Do you mean play with you?" and the muskrat lady turned to see a little girl, with flaxen hair, standing at the foot of the steps.

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

From this reading "Excuse me, but can Uncle Wiggily be out to play?"

behindprepositionUS /bɪˈhaɪnd/

at or toward the back of something

bungalownounUS /ˈbʌŋɡəloʊ/

a small house with a single story

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading "Excuse me, but can Uncle Wiggily be out to play?"

canmodal verbUS /kæn/

to be able to, or to be allowed to

From this reading "Excuse me, but can Uncle Wiggily be out to play?"

cleaningnounUS /ˈkliːnɪŋ/

the act of making something clean

Doauxiliary verbUS /duː/

used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis

From this reading "Do you mean play with you?" and the muskrat lady turned to see a little girl, with flaxen hair, standing at the foot of the steps.

DUMPTY

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

ExcuseverbUS /ɪksˈkjuːs/

accept an excuse for

flaxenadjective

of hair color; pale yellowish to yellowish brown

From this reading "Do you mean play with you?" and the muskrat lady turned to see a little girl, with flaxen hair, standing at the foot of the steps.

footnounUS /fʊt/

the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint

From this reading "Do you mean play with you?" and the muskrat lady turned to see a little girl, with flaxen hair, standing at the foot of the steps.

FuzzyadjectiveUS /ˈfʌzi/

covering with fine light hairs

gentleadjectiveUS /ˈdʒentəl/

soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe

girlnounUS /ɡɜːrl/

a young female

From this reading "Do you mean play with you?" and the muskrat lady turned to see a little girl, with flaxen hair, standing at the foot of the steps.

hairnounUS /her/

a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss

From this reading "Do you mean play with you?" and the muskrat lady turned to see a little girl, with flaxen hair, standing at the foot of the steps.

hollowadjectiveUS /ˈhɑːloʊ/

not solid; having a space or gap or cavity

housekeepernounUS /ˈhaʊskiːpər/

a servant who is employed to perform domestic task in a household

HUMPTY

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

ifconjunctionUS /ɪf/

on condition that; in the event that

From this reading "Yes, play with me, if you please," said the little girl.

Jane

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

ladynounUS /ˈleɪdi/

a polite name for any woman

littleadjectiveUS /ˈlɪtəl/

limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

From this reading "Do you mean play with you?" and the muskrat lady turned to see a little girl, with flaxen hair, standing at the foot of the steps.

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

meanverbUS /miːn/

mean or intend to express or convey

From this reading "Do you mean play with you?" and the muskrat lady turned to see a little girl, with flaxen hair, standing at the foot of the steps.

morningnounUS /ˈmɔːrnɪŋ/

the time period between dawn and noon

muskratnounUS /ˈmʌskræt/

the brown fur of a muskrat

NurseverbUS /nɜːrs/

try to cure by special care of treatment, of an illness or injury

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

onepronounUS /wʌn/

used to mean any person in general, including the speaker

outadjectiveUS /aʊt/

not allowed to continue to bat or run

From this reading "Excuse me, but can Uncle Wiggily be out to play?"

playverbUS /pleɪ/

participate in games or sport

From this reading "Excuse me, but can Uncle Wiggily be out to play?"

pleaseverbUS /pliːz/

give pleasure to or be pleasing to

From this reading "Yes, play with me, if you please," said the little girl.

repeatedadjectiveUS /rɪˈpiːtɪd/

recurring again and again

From this reading "Be out to play?" repeated Nurse Jane.

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading "Yes, play with me, if you please," said the little girl.

seeverbUS /siː/

perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight

From this reading "Do you mean play with you?" and the muskrat lady turned to see a little girl, with flaxen hair, standing at the foot of the steps.

spokenounUS /spoʊk/

support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim

standingadjectiveUS /ˈstændɪŋ/

having a supporting base

From this reading "Do you mean play with you?" and the muskrat lady turned to see a little girl, with flaxen hair, standing at the foot of the steps.

stepsnounUS /steps/

a flight of stairs or a flight of steps

stumpnounUS /stʌmp/

the base part of a tree that remains standing after the tree has been felled

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading "Excuse me, but can Uncle Wiggily be out to play?"

turnedadjectiveUS /tɜːrnd/

moved around an axis or center

From this reading "Do you mean play with you?" and the muskrat lady turned to see a little girl, with flaxen hair, standing at the foot of the steps.

UNCLEnounUS /ˈʌŋkəl/

the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt

voicenounUS /vɔɪs/

the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

WIGGILY

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading "Do you mean play with you?" and the muskrat lady turned to see a little girl, with flaxen hair, standing at the foot of the steps.

Wuzzy

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

YesnounUS /jes/

an affirmative

From this reading "Yes, play with me, if you please," said the little girl.

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading "Do you mean play with you?" and the muskrat lady turned to see a little girl, with flaxen hair, standing at the foot of the steps.

Chapter 20 of Uncle Wiggily in Wonderland by Howard Roger Garis holds 79 sentences, grouped into 16 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.

What does chapter 20 of Uncle Wiggily in Wonderland contain?

Chapter 20 holds 79 sentences of Uncle Wiggily in Wonderland, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 20 of Uncle Wiggily in Wonderland by Howard Roger Garis exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 79 sentences, grouped into 16 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.

How do I study chapter 20 of Uncle Wiggily in Wonderland?

Work through the 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 16 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.

Can chapter 20 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 20 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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Is this the complete text of Uncle Wiggily in Wonderland?

Yes. All 1868 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #42574 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

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Project Gutenberg eBook #42574, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Uncle Wiggily in Wonderland take to read?

About 155 minutes of reading across 374 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Chapter XX

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