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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 234/518 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.
Ferko spent the whole day in the meadows waiting the return of the bee.
And when evening was come the queen bee flew by, and perching on his shoulder she said, The wonderful palace is ready.
Be of good cheer, and lead the King to the hill just outside the city walls.’
And humming gaily she flew away again.
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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 234/518 · 5 reading units · Lines 1166–1170

Line 1
The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.
/ðə ˈprɪn.ses əˈloʊn wɑːz ˈsaɪlənt ənd ˈsɑːroʊfəl ənd hæd kraɪd ɔːl naɪt tɪl hɜːr ˈpɪloʊ wɑːz wet soʊ mʌtʃ dɪd ʃiː teɪk ðə feɪt ʌv ðə ˈbjuːtəfəl juːθ tuː hɑːrt/
Line 2
Ferko spent the whole day in the meadows waiting the return of the bee.
Line 3
And when evening was come the queen bee flew by, and perching on his shoulder she said, ‘The wonderful palace is ready.
Line 4
Be of good cheer, and lead the King to the hill just outside the city walls.’
/biː ʌv ɡʊd tʃɪr ənd led ðə kɪŋ tuː ðə hɪl dʒʌst ˈaʊtˈsaɪd ðə ˈsɪti wɔːlz/
Line 5
And humming gaily she flew away again.
/ənd ˈhʌmɪŋ ˈɡeɪli ʃiː fluː əˈweɪ əˈɡen/

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.

bee noun US /biː/

any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species

From this reading “Ferko spent the whole day in the meadows waiting the return of the bee.”

cheer verb US /tʃɪr/

give encouragement to

From this reading “Be of good cheer, and lead the King to the hill just outside the city walls.’”

flew verb US /fluː/

inflected form of “fly” — travel through the air; be airborne

From this reading “And when evening was come the queen bee flew by, and perching on his shoulder she said, ‘The wonderful palace is ready.”

gaily adverb US /ˈɡeɪli/

in a gay manner

From this reading “And humming gaily she flew away again.”

humming noun US /ˈhʌmɪŋ/

a humming noise

From this reading “And humming gaily she flew away again.”

meadows noun US /ˈmedoʊz/

plural of “meadow” — a field where grass or alfalfa are grown to be made into hay

From this reading “Ferko spent the whole day in the meadows waiting the return of the bee.”

pillow noun US /ˈpɪloʊ/

a cushion to support the head of a sleeping person

From this reading “The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.”

sorrowful adjective US /ˈsɑːroʊfəl/

experiencing or marked by or expressing sorrow especially that associated with irreparable loss

From this reading “The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.”

All words in this reading · 64

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.

againadverbUS /əˈɡen/

anew

From this reading And humming gaily she flew away again.

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 The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

aloneadjectiveUS /əˈloʊn/

Having no one else present.

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

awayadverbUS /əˈweɪ/

from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)

From this reading And humming gaily she flew away again.

Beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

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

From this reading Be of good cheer, and lead the King to the hill just outside the city walls.’

beautifuladjectiveUS /ˈbjuːtəfəl/

delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

beenounUS /biː/

any of numerous hairy-bodied insects including social and solitary species

From this reading Ferko spent the whole day in the meadows waiting the return of the bee.

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading And when evening was come the queen bee flew by, and perching on his shoulder she said, ‘The wonderful palace is ready.

cheerverbUS /tʃɪr/

give encouragement to

From this reading Be of good cheer, and lead the King to the hill just outside the city walls.’

citynounUS /ˈsɪti/

a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts

From this reading Be of good cheer, and lead the King to the hill just outside the city walls.’

comeverbUS /kʌm/

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

From this reading And when evening was come the queen bee flew by, and perching on his shoulder she said, ‘The wonderful palace is ready.

criedverbUS /kraɪd/

inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

daynounUS /deɪ/

time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis

From this reading Ferko spent the whole day in the meadows waiting the return of the bee.

didauxiliary verbUS /dɪd/

the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

eveningnounUS /ˈiːvnɪŋ/

the latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)

From this reading And when evening was come the queen bee flew by, and perching on his shoulder she said, ‘The wonderful palace is ready.

fatenounUS /feɪt/

an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

Ferko

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

From this reading Ferko spent the whole day in the meadows waiting the return of the bee.

flewverbUS /fluː/

inflected form of “fly” — travel through the air; be airborne

From this reading And when evening was come the queen bee flew by, and perching on his shoulder she said, ‘The wonderful palace is ready.

gailyadverbUS /ˈɡeɪli/

in a gay manner

From this reading And humming gaily she flew away again.

goodadjectiveUS /ɡʊd/

having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified

From this reading Be of good cheer, and lead the King to the hill just outside the city walls.’

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

heartnounUS /hɑːrt/

the locus of feelings and intuitions

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

hillnounUS /hɪl/

a local and well-defined elevation of the land

From this reading Be of good cheer, and lead the King to the hill just outside the city walls.’

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading And when evening was come the queen bee flew by, and perching on his shoulder she said, ‘The wonderful palace is ready.

hummingnounUS /ˈhʌmɪŋ/

a humming noise

From this reading And humming gaily she flew away again.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading Ferko spent the whole day in the meadows waiting the return of the bee.

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

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

From this reading And when evening was come the queen bee flew by, and perching on his shoulder she said, ‘The wonderful palace is ready.

justadverbUS /dʒʌst/

and nothing more

From this reading Be of good cheer, and lead the King to the hill just outside the city walls.’

KingnounUS /kɪŋ/

a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom

From this reading Be of good cheer, and lead the King to the hill just outside the city walls.’

leadverbUS /led/

take somebody somewhere

From this reading Be of good cheer, and lead the King to the hill just outside the city walls.’

meadowsnounUS /ˈmedoʊz/

plural of “meadow” — a field where grass or alfalfa are grown to be made into hay

From this reading Ferko spent the whole day in the meadows waiting the return of the bee.

muchadverbUS /mʌtʃ/

to a great degree or extent

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

nightnounUS /naɪt/

the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading And when evening was come the queen bee flew by, and perching on his shoulder she said, ‘The wonderful palace is ready.

outsideadjectiveUS /ˈaʊtˈsaɪd/

relating to or being on or near the outer side or limit

From this reading Be of good cheer, and lead the King to the hill just outside the city walls.’

palacenounUS /ˈpæləs/

a large and stately mansion

From this reading And when evening was come the queen bee flew by, and perching on his shoulder she said, ‘The wonderful palace is ready.

perching

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

From this reading And when evening was come the queen bee flew by, and perching on his shoulder she said, ‘The wonderful palace is ready.

pillownounUS /ˈpɪloʊ/

a cushion to support the head of a sleeping person

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

PrincessnounUS /ˈprɪn.ses/

The daughter of a monarch; a female member of a royal family.

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

queennounUS /kwiːn/

the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs

From this reading And when evening was come the queen bee flew by, and perching on his shoulder she said, ‘The wonderful palace is ready.

readyadjectiveUS /ˈredi/

completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress

From this reading And when evening was come the queen bee flew by, and perching on his shoulder she said, ‘The wonderful palace is ready.

returnverbUS /rɪˈtɜːrn/

go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before

From this reading Ferko spent the whole day in the meadows waiting the return of the bee.

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading And when evening was come the queen bee flew by, and perching on his shoulder she said, ‘The wonderful palace is ready.

shepronounUS /ʃiː/

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

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

shoulderverbUS /ˈʃoʊldər/

lift onto one's shoulders

From this reading And when evening was come the queen bee flew by, and perching on his shoulder she said, ‘The wonderful palace is ready.

silentadjectiveUS /ˈsaɪlənt/

marked by absence of sound

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

soconjunctionUS /soʊ/

for that reason; with the result that

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

sorrowfuladjectiveUS /ˈsɑːroʊfəl/

experiencing or marked by or expressing sorrow especially that associated with irreparable loss

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

spentadjectiveUS /spent/

depleted of energy, force, or strength

From this reading Ferko spent the whole day in the meadows waiting the return of the bee.

takeverbUS /teɪk/

carry out

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

tillprepositionUS /tɪl/

up to a particular time

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

waitingnounUS /ˈweɪtɪŋ/

the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)

From this reading Ferko spent the whole day in the meadows waiting the return of the bee.

wallsnounUS /wɔːlz/

plural of “wall” — an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure

From this reading Be of good cheer, and lead the King to the hill just outside the city walls.’

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

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

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

wetadjectiveUS /wet/

covered or soaked with a liquid such as water

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

whenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading And when evening was come the queen bee flew by, and perching on his shoulder she said, ‘The wonderful palace is ready.

wholeadjectiveUS /hoʊl/

including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete

From this reading Ferko spent the whole day in the meadows waiting the return of the bee.

wonderfuladjectiveUS /ˈwʌndərfəl/

extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers

From this reading And when evening was come the queen bee flew by, and perching on his shoulder she said, ‘The wonderful palace is ready.

youthnounUS /juːθ/

a young person (especially a young man or boy)

From this reading The Princess alone was silent and sorrowful, and had cried all night till her pillow was wet, so much did she take the fate of the beautiful youth to heart.

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.