The Vain Jackdaw
A fable retold from Aesop
This fable comes from Aesop, a storyteller from ancient Greece. The story has been retold for hundreds of years. A jackdaw is a small grey bird related to crows. Peacocks are famous for their bright, beautiful feathers. This story teaches children about being happy with who they are and the cost of pretending to be someone else. It is a gentle introduction to themes of identity, belonging and consequence. This text reflects its era.
- Band
- Purple · Pre-readers and first readersTypical starting range: ages 4–5
- Length
- short · about 334 words in 5 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 8 minutes at this band
- Pause questions
- 4
- 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.