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The Fisherman and His Wife

From Grimms' Fairy Tales, by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

This reader is retold from "The Fisherman and His Wife," a tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, and first published in the early nineteenth century. The Grimms gathered folk tales from across Germany, preserving stories that had been told aloud for generations. This story explores greed, contentment and the danger of wanting more and more. It teaches that wishing for power beyond reason can lead a person right back to where they started—or worse. The tale remains one of the best-known fairy tales in the world. This text reflects its era.

Band

Green · Independent readers, earlyTypical starting range: ages 9–11

Length

medium · about 800 words in 6 sections · 3 pictures

Source

Grimms' Fairy Tales, Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm

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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