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By the Almshouse Window

From Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen wrote this story in nineteenth-century Denmark. It is a quiet, reflective tale about memory, time, and the way a single place can hold many lives. The old maid at the window has watched the world change, but the rampart remains, green and faithful. Andersen is best known for his fairy tales, but this story shows his gift for capturing the inner life of ordinary people. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised.

Band: Green · Independent readers, earlyTypical starting range: ages 9–11
Length: medium · about 713 words in 5 sections · 3 pictures
Source: Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen, 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 8 minutes at this band
Pause questions: 2
Words to Know: 8
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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