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The Story of the Fisherman

From The Arabian Nights Entertainments, collected by Andrew Lang

This reader is drawn from The Arabian Nights Entertainments, also known as One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled over many centuries. Andrew Lang published this English version in the late nineteenth century as part of his coloured fairy book series. The frame structure of the original—where one story leads into another—is reflected here: the fisherman's tale ends as he begins to tell the genius yet another story, a characteristic device of the source. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. The story rewards the reader with a timeless lesson: that wit and presence of mind can be more powerful than size or strength, and that kindness must sometimes be tempered with caution.

Band
Blue · Independent readers, confidentTypical starting range: ages 12–14
Length
long · about 1064 words in 5 sections · 2 pictures
Source
The Arabian Nights Entertainments, Andrew Lang
First published
see the About page in the reader
Regions
Canada · United States

Included formats

  • · Web reader and PDF
  • · EPUB for e-readers
  • · Home-print sheet
  • · Folded booklet
  • · Binder edition (8.5 × 11)
  • · Worksheet
  • · Quick Check (10 questions) with answer key
  • · Read-aloud script
  • · Teacher’s Edition (members)

Lesson at a glance

Reading
about 10 minutes at this band
Pause questions
1
Words to Know
10
Quick Check
10 questions, with the answer key
Let’s Talk
2 questions for afterwards
Worksheet
questions, an activity and a drawing prompt

About 40 minutes with one story, all of it.

Readers are engineered from the original public-domain text with AI under HummingRead’s published canon and Content Philosophy, checked by automated audit and sampled by a person. Pictures are made with AI to HummingRead’s brief for each story. How a reader is made.

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The same story

The Story of the Fisherman at other bands