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The Diamond and the Loadstone

A fable retold from Harrison Weir's Favourite Fables

This fable comes from Harrison Weir's Favourite Fables in Prose and Verse, a collection published in the 1800s. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. The story teaches children that true worth comes from being helpful, not from how we look. It shows that things—and people—who seem plain or ordinary may have hidden value that sparkles more brightly than any jewel.

Band
Purple · Pre-readers and first readersTypical starting range: ages 4–5
Length
short · about 380 words in 4 sections · 4 pictures
Source
Favourite Fables in Prose and Verse, Harrison Weir
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
  • · Teacher’s Edition (members)

Lesson at a glance

Reading
about 9 minutes at this band
Pause questions
3
Words to Know
4
Quick Check
6 questions, with the answer key
Let’s Talk
3 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

Other bands of this story

This story is ready now at the Purple band only. Other bands can be made to order for members after launch.