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The Leap-frog

From Andersen's Fairy Tales, by H. C. Andersen

This tale is from Andersen's Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen, the Danish master of the literary fairy tale, first published in the mid-nineteenth century. Andersen's stories often carry a gentle moral or a wry observation about human nature. Here, three competitors boast and leap, but only the one who thinks wins the prize. The story invites a child to consider what it means to be truly clever — and whether the loudest voice always deserves the reward. This text reflects its era.

Band
Green · Independent readers, earlyTypical starting range: ages 9–11
Length
medium · about 736 words in 6 sections · 3 pictures
Source
Andersen's Fairy Tales, H. C. Andersen
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 9 minutes at this band
Pause questions
2
Words to Know
9
Quick Check
10 questions, with the answer key
Let’s Talk
2 questions for afterwards
Worksheet
questions, an activity and a drawing prompt

About 35 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 Leap-frog at other bands

Purple band

The Leap-frog

H. C. Andersen

short · 368 words · also in Yellow, Green

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Yellow band

The Leap-frog

H. C. Andersen

medium · 581 words · also in Purple, Green

Ready now