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Binnorie

From English Fairy Tales, collected by Joseph Jacobs

This tale comes from English Fairy Tales, collected by the folklorist Joseph Jacobs and first published in 1890. Jacobs gathered traditional stories from across England and Scotland, preserving the language and spirit of the oral tradition. "Binnorie" is a dark ballad-story, one of many old tales that warned listeners about the danger of jealousy and the certainty that hidden crimes will one day be revealed. The magical harp that sings the truth is a motif found in folk tales from many lands, reminding us that some wrongs cannot stay silent forever. 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 803 words in 6 sections · 3 pictures
Source
English Fairy Tales, Joseph Jacobs
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
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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The same story

Binnorie at other bands

Yellow band

Binnorie

Joseph Jacobs

medium · 535 words · also in Green, Blue

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Blue band

Binnorie

Joseph Jacobs

long · 1063 words · also in Yellow, Green

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