Horatius at the Bridge

From Fifty Famous Stories Retold, by James Baldwin

James Baldwin published Fifty Famous Stories Retold in 1896 as a collection of tales from history and legend for young readers. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. The story of Horatius comes from early Roman tradition, when the young Republic faced invasion by the Etruscan king Porsena around 508 BC. It is remembered for one man's courage in the face of an army, and for the trust a city placed in that courage. Baldwin gives us both the human choice and the poetic lines that made the story last.

Band

Green · Independent readers, early, about 8 to 10

Length

medium · about 840 words in 5 sections · 3 pictures

Source

Fifty Famous Stories Retold, James Baldwin · Project Gutenberg

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

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.