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Beowulf

From Hero-Myths & Legends of the British Race, retold by M. I. Ebbutt

This reader retells the opening of Beowulf, the great Anglo-Saxon epic, as collected in M. I. Ebbutt's Hero-Myths & Legends of the British Race, first published in the early twentieth century. The poem itself was composed over a thousand years ago and tells of a Geatish warrior who sails to Denmark to rid the hall of Heorot from the monster Grendel. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. The story is worth a reader's time because it shows how reputation is built not on natural gifts alone but on the courage to act when others hesitate, and because its themes—honour, duty, the proving of worth—have echoed through literature ever since.

Band

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

Length

long · about 986 words in 4 sections · 2 pictures

Source

Hero-Myths & Legends of the British Race, M. I. Ebbutt

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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