Chapter 2 of Wet Magic is here in full — 449 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Wet Magic is here in full — 449 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Shall we tell the others?” Mavis asked. “We must,” said Francis, “it would be so sneakish not to. But they won’t believe us. We shall have to be like Cassandra and not mind.”
Chapter 2 of Wet Magic is here in full — 449 sentences across 90 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/89 · 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.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading “Mavis asked.”
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading “But they won’t believe us.”
(Greek mythology) a prophetess in Troy during the Trojan War whose predictions were true but were never believed
From this reading “We shall have to be like Cassandra and not mind.””
common Old World thrush noted for its song
From this reading “Mavis asked.”
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading “We shall have to be like Cassandra and not mind.””
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading ““We must,” said Francis, “it would be so sneakish not to.”
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading ““Shall we tell the others?””
express in words
From this reading ““Shall we tell the others?””
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.
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading We shall have to be like Cassandra and not mind.”
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Mavis asked.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “We must,” said Francis, “it would be so sneakish not to.
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading But they won’t believe us.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But they won’t believe us.
(Greek mythology) a prophetess in Troy during the Trojan War whose predictions were true but were never believed
From this reading We shall have to be like Cassandra and not mind.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “We must,” said Francis, “it would be so sneakish not to.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading We shall have to be like Cassandra and not mind.”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “We must,” said Francis, “it would be so sneakish not to.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading We shall have to be like Cassandra and not mind.”
common Old World thrush noted for its song
From this reading Mavis asked.
The element of a person that enables awareness and thought.
From this reading We shall have to be like Cassandra and not mind.”
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading “We must,” said Francis, “it would be so sneakish not to.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “We must,” said Francis, “it would be so sneakish not to.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Shall we tell the others?”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “We must,” said Francis, “it would be so sneakish not to.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading “Shall we tell the others?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “We must,” said Francis, “it would be so sneakish not to.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading “We must,” said Francis, “it would be so sneakish not to.
express in words
From this reading “Shall we tell the others?”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Shall we tell the others?”
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading But they won’t believe us.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “We must,” said Francis, “it would be so sneakish not to.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading But they won’t believe us.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading “Shall we tell the others?”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But they won’t believe us.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading “We must,” said Francis, “it would be so sneakish not to.
Chapter 2 of Wet Magic by E. (Edith) Nesbit holds 449 sentences, grouped into 90 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 449 sentences of Wet Magic, unabridged, divided into 90 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Wet Magic by E. (Edith) Nesbit exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 449 sentences, grouped into 90 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 90 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 90 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 Wet Magic by E. (Edith) Nesbit on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3141 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50361 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50361, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 261 minutes of reading across 629 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Wet Magic section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Wet Magic 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 Wet Magic, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
