The Happy Family

From Andersen's Fairy Tales, by H. C. Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen wrote this fairy tale in the nineteenth century. It is a gentle story about snails who believe their small world is all that matters. Andersen often used animals to show how people think and act. The old snails are content with what they have and never look beyond their garden. The story invites young readers to wonder about the world beyond what they can see, and to think about what it means to be truly happy.

Band

Purple · Pre-readers and first readers, about 4 to 5

Length

short · about 350 words in 5 sections · 4 pictures

Source

Andersen's Fairy Tales, H. C. Andersen · 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 (6 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script
• · Colouring page

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.