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The White Cat

A fairy tale from The Blue Fairy Book, retold from Madame d'Aulnoy

This fairy tale was written by the French author Madame d'Aulnoy in the seventeenth century and included in The Blue Fairy Book, a famous collection edited by Andrew Lang and first published in 1889. The story reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. The tale combines elements common to classic fairy stories—enchantment, impossible tasks, and the power of true love to break a spell—with the wit and elegance that made Madame d'Aulnoy one of the first writers to establish the literary fairy tale as a genre. It is worth reading because it rewards loyalty, kindness and trust, and because its imaginative details—a castle lit by glowing jewels, invisible hands that serve supper, a dog hidden in an acorn—have delighted readers for more than three centuries.

Band

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

Length

medium · about 839 words in 6 sections · 3 pictures

Source

The Blue Fairy Book, Andrew Lang

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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