The Story of the Husband and the Parrot
From The Arabian Nights Entertainments, collected by Andrew Lang
This tale comes from The Arabian Nights (also called One Thousand and One Nights), a collection of Middle Eastern folktales compiled over many centuries and translated into English in the nineteenth century. Andrew Lang published this version in his collection of tales from the Nights. The story is structured as a frame tale—a story within a story—where each narrator tells a story to persuade or warn another character. This layered structure reflects the literary tradition of the Arabian Nights, where storytelling itself becomes a tool of survival and wisdom. The story examines trust, deception, and the tragic consequences of acting on suspicion without seeking the full truth. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised.
- Band
- Blue · Independent readers, confidentTypical starting range: ages 12–14
- Length
- long · about 1080 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.
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The same story
The Story of the Husband and the Parrot at other bands
The Story of the Husband and the Parrot
Andrew Lang
medium · 802 words · also in Yellow, Blue