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The Adventures of Haroun-al-Raschid, Caliph of Bagdad

From The Arabian Nights Entertainments, collected by Andrew Lang

This reader is adapted from a tale in The Arabian Nights Entertainments, a collection of Middle Eastern folk stories compiled over many centuries and introduced to English readers through various translations and editions. Andrew Lang published his version in the late nineteenth century as part of his coloured fairy book series. The story presents the legendary Caliph Haroun-al-Raschid, a historical ruler of the Abbasid Caliphate, as a figure of wisdom and curiosity who walks disguised among his people to see the truth of their lives. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. The tale is worth reading because it asks what justice requires: not only fair laws, but a ruler willing to understand the lives and sorrows of those he governs.

Band

Blue · Independent readers, confidentTypical starting range: ages 12–14

Length

long · about 1045 words in 4 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)

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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