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The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts
The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts

Chapter I · Act 01: The Chronicle of The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts — The Origin & The Heroic Quest

Chapter 1 of The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts is here in full — 2590 sentences across 518 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts
Context Illustration Reading 188/518 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Then go, quite alone, down a road that you will find on your right hand, looking southwards.
This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.
And now,’ she went on, attend carefully to what I am going to say.
Take this tiny grain of sand, and put it into the ground as close as you can to the gate of the castle.
It has the virtue both of opening the gate and also of sending to sleep all the inhabitants.
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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.

The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts

Chapter I · Act 01: The Chronicle of The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts — The Origin & The Heroic Quest

Chapter 1 of The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts is here in full — 2590 sentences across 518 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 188/518 · 5 reading units · Lines 936–940

Line 1
Then go, quite alone, down a road that you will find on your right hand, looking southwards.
Line 2
This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.
/ðɪs roʊd ɪz ˈplæntɪd ɔːl ðə weɪ wɪð ˈsiːdərz ʌv ˈlebənən ənd ˈæftər ˈɡoʊɪŋ daʊn ɪt ə lɔːŋ weɪ juː wɪl kʌm æt læst tuː ə mæɡˈnɪfəsənt ˈkæsəl/
Line 3
And now,’ she went on, ‘attend carefully to what I am going to say.
/ənd naʊ ʃiː went ɑːn əˈtend ˈkerfəli tuː wʌt aɪ æm ˈɡoʊɪŋ tuː seɪ/
Line 4
Take this tiny grain of sand, and put it into the ground as close as you can to the gate of the castle.
/teɪk ðɪs ˈtaɪni ɡreɪn ʌv sænd ənd pʊt ɪt ˈɪntuː ðə ɡraʊnd æz kloʊs æz juː kæn tuː ðə ɡeɪt ʌv ðə ˈkæsəl/
Line 5
It has the virtue both of opening the gate and also of sending to sleep all the inhabitants.
/ɪt hæz ðə ˈvɝː.tʃuː boʊθ ʌv ˈoʊpənɪŋ ðə ɡeɪt ənd ˈɔːlsoʊ ʌv ˈsendɪŋ tuː sliːp ɔːl ðə ɪnˈhæbətənts/

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.

cedars noun US /ˈsiːdərz/

plural of “cedar” — any of numerous trees of the family Cupressaceae that resemble cedars

From this reading “This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.”

grain noun US /ɡreɪn/

a relatively small granular particle of a substance

From this reading “Take this tiny grain of sand, and put it into the ground as close as you can to the gate of the castle.”

inhabitants noun US /ɪnˈhæbətənts/

plural of “inhabitant” — a person who inhabits a particular place

From this reading “It has the virtue both of opening the gate and also of sending to sleep all the inhabitants.”

Lebanon noun US /ˈlebənən/

an Asian republic at east end of Mediterranean

From this reading “This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.”

magnificent adjective US /mæɡˈnɪfəsənt/

characterized by grandeur

From this reading “This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.”

planted adjective US /ˈplæntɪd/

(used especially of ideas or principles) deeply rooted; firmly fixed or held

From this reading “This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.”

sending noun US /ˈsendɪŋ/

the act of causing something to go (especially messages)

From this reading “It has the virtue both of opening the gate and also of sending to sleep all the inhabitants.”

tiny adjective US /ˈtaɪni/

very small

From this reading “Take this tiny grain of sand, and put it into the ground as close as you can to the gate of the castle.”

All words in this reading · 66

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 Then go, quite alone, down a road that you will find on your right hand, looking southwards.

afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.

aloneadjectiveUS /əˈloʊn/

Having no one else present.

From this reading Then go, quite alone, down a road that you will find on your right hand, looking southwards.

alsoadverbUS /ˈɔːlsoʊ/

in addition

From this reading It has the virtue both of opening the gate and also of sending to sleep all the inhabitants.

amauxiliary verbUS /æm/

the form of “be” used with “I”

From this reading And now,’ she went on, ‘attend carefully to what I am going to say.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading Take this tiny grain of sand, and put it into the ground as close as you can to the gate of the castle.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.

attendverbUS /əˈtend/

be present at (meetings, church services, university), etc.

From this reading And now,’ she went on, ‘attend carefully to what I am going to say.

bothdeterminerUS /boʊθ/

the two together, not just one

From this reading It has the virtue both of opening the gate and also of sending to sleep all the inhabitants.

canmodal verbUS /kæn/

to be able to, or to be allowed to

From this reading Take this tiny grain of sand, and put it into the ground as close as you can to the gate of the castle.

carefullyadverbUS /ˈkerfəli/

taking care or paying attention

From this reading And now,’ she went on, ‘attend carefully to what I am going to say.

castlenounUS /ˈkæsəl/

a large and stately mansion

From this reading This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.

cedarsnounUS /ˈsiːdərz/

plural of “cedar” — any of numerous trees of the family Cupressaceae that resemble cedars

From this reading This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.

closeadjectiveUS /kloʊs/

at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other

From this reading Take this tiny grain of sand, and put it into the ground as close as you can to the gate of the castle.

comeverbUS /kʌm/

move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody

From this reading This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.

downadjectiveUS /daʊn/

being or moving lower in position or less in some value

From this reading Then go, quite alone, down a road that you will find on your right hand, looking southwards.

findverbUS /faɪnd/

come upon, as if by accident; meet with

From this reading Then go, quite alone, down a road that you will find on your right hand, looking southwards.

gatenounUS /ɡeɪt/

a movable barrier in a fence or wall

From this reading Take this tiny grain of sand, and put it into the ground as close as you can to the gate of the castle.

goverbUS /ɡoʊ/

change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically

From this reading Then go, quite alone, down a road that you will find on your right hand, looking southwards.

goingnounUS /ˈɡoʊɪŋ/

the act of departing

From this reading This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.

grainnounUS /ɡreɪn/

a relatively small granular particle of a substance

From this reading Take this tiny grain of sand, and put it into the ground as close as you can to the gate of the castle.

groundnounUS /ɡraʊnd/

the solid part of the earth's surface

From this reading Take this tiny grain of sand, and put it into the ground as close as you can to the gate of the castle.

handnounUS /hænd/

the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb

From this reading Then go, quite alone, down a road that you will find on your right hand, looking southwards.

hasauxiliary verbUS /hæz/

the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading It has the virtue both of opening the gate and also of sending to sleep all the inhabitants.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading And now,’ she went on, ‘attend carefully to what I am going to say.

inhabitantsnounUS /ɪnˈhæbətənts/

plural of “inhabitant” — a person who inhabits a particular place

From this reading It has the virtue both of opening the gate and also of sending to sleep all the inhabitants.

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading Take this tiny grain of sand, and put it into the ground as close as you can to the gate of the castle.

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.

lastadjectiveUS /læst/

immediately past

From this reading This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.

LebanonnounUS /ˈlebənən/

an Asian republic at east end of Mediterranean

From this reading This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.

longadjectiveUS /lɔːŋ/

primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified

From this reading This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.

lookingnounUS /ˈlʊkɪŋ/

the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually

From this reading Then go, quite alone, down a road that you will find on your right hand, looking southwards.

magnificentadjectiveUS /mæɡˈnɪfəsənt/

characterized by grandeur

From this reading This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.

nowadverbUS /naʊ/

in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events

From this reading And now,’ she went on, ‘attend carefully to what I am going to say.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading Then go, quite alone, down a road that you will find on your right hand, looking southwards.

openingnounUS /ˈoʊpənɪŋ/

an open or empty space in or between things

From this reading It has the virtue both of opening the gate and also of sending to sleep all the inhabitants.

plantedadjectiveUS /ˈplæntɪd/

(used especially of ideas or principles) deeply rooted; firmly fixed or held

From this reading This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.

putverbUS /pʊt/

put into a certain place or abstract location

From this reading Take this tiny grain of sand, and put it into the ground as close as you can to the gate of the castle.

quiteadverbUS /kwaɪt/

to a degree (not used with a negative)

From this reading Then go, quite alone, down a road that you will find on your right hand, looking southwards.

rightadverbUS /raɪt/

precisely, exactly

From this reading Then go, quite alone, down a road that you will find on your right hand, looking southwards.

roadnounUS /roʊd/

an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation

From this reading Then go, quite alone, down a road that you will find on your right hand, looking southwards.

sandnounUS /sænd/

a loose material consisting of grains of rock or coral

From this reading Take this tiny grain of sand, and put it into the ground as close as you can to the gate of the castle.

sayverbUS /seɪ/

express in words

From this reading And now,’ she went on, ‘attend carefully to what I am going to say.

sendingnounUS /ˈsendɪŋ/

the act of causing something to go (especially messages)

From this reading It has the virtue both of opening the gate and also of sending to sleep all the inhabitants.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading And now,’ she went on, ‘attend carefully to what I am going to say.

sleepnounUS /sliːp/

a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended

From this reading It has the virtue both of opening the gate and also of sending to sleep all the inhabitants.

southwardsadverb

toward the south

From this reading Then go, quite alone, down a road that you will find on your right hand, looking southwards.

TakeverbUS /teɪk/

carry out

From this reading Take this tiny grain of sand, and put it into the ground as close as you can to the gate of the castle.

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading Then go, quite alone, down a road that you will find on your right hand, looking southwards.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.

ThenadverbUS /ðen/

subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)

From this reading Then go, quite alone, down a road that you will find on your right hand, looking southwards.

ThisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.

tinyadjectiveUS /ˈtaɪni/

very small

From this reading Take this tiny grain of sand, and put it into the ground as close as you can to the gate of the castle.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.

virtuenounUS /ˈvɝː.tʃuː/

Moral excellence and goodness of character; the highest human attainment in Stoic philosophy.

From this reading It has the virtue both of opening the gate and also of sending to sleep all the inhabitants.

waynounUS /weɪ/

how something is done or how it happens

From this reading This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.

wentverbUS /went/

inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically

From this reading And now,’ she went on, ‘attend carefully to what I am going to say.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading And now,’ she went on, ‘attend carefully to what I am going to say.

willmodal verbUS /wɪl/

used to talk about the future, or about willingness

From this reading Then go, quite alone, down a road that you will find on your right hand, looking southwards.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading This road is planted all the way with cedars of Lebanon; and after going down it a long way you will come at last to a magnificent castle.

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading Then go, quite alone, down a road that you will find on your right hand, looking southwards.

yourdeterminerUS /jɔːr/

belonging to the person or people being spoken to

From this reading Then go, quite alone, down a road that you will find on your right hand, looking southwards.

Chapter Quiz

Use these questions to verify literal comprehension before continuing to the next chapter.

What is the primary narrative focus and dramatic development in 'Act 01: The Chronicle of The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts — The Origin & The Heroic Quest'?

How does the author create suspense and academic depth in this passage?

What primary language acquisition benefit does this section provide for advanced English scholars?

Chapter 1 of The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts by World Traditions (Celtic, Norse, Asian & Persian) holds 2590 sentences, grouped into 518 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 1 of The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts contain?

Chapter 1 holds 2590 sentences of The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts, unabridged, divided into 518 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 1 of The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts by World Traditions (Celtic, Norse, Asian & Persian) exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 2590 sentences, grouped into 518 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 1 of The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts?

Work through the 518 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 518 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 1 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts

Common questions about reading The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts by World Traditions (Celtic, Norse, Asian & Persian) on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts?

Yes. All 4954 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #640 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #640, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts take to read?

About 412 minutes of reading across 991 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts section by section

How to work through The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Books
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Yellow
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Green
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Puzzling
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.