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The Boy Who Caught the Sun

A traditional tale from The Indian Fairy Book, by Cornelius Mathews

This is a traditional Native American story collected by Cornelius Mathews in the nineteenth century. It tells how a brave little boy tried to catch the sun after it ruined his coat, and how the animals came together to set the sun free. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. The tale celebrates determination, cleverness and the child's place in a much larger world — and it shows that even the smallest person can shake the sky.

Band

Purple · Pre-readers and first readersTypical starting range: ages 4–5

Length

short · about 356 words in 5 sections · 4 pictures

Source

The Indian Fairy Book: From the Original Legends, Cornelius Mathews

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)

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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