Why the Sea Is Salt
A Norse myth retold from Florence Holbrook
This story comes from The Book of Nature Myths by Florence Holbrook, a collection of tales that explain how things in nature came to be. The Norse people of Scandinavia told this myth long ago to explain why the ocean tastes salty. The magic millstones, the greedy king, and the women who worked them are remembered in folklore across northern Europe. The story teaches children that being cruel and greedy can lead to trouble. It is a "why" story, the kind people told before science explained the world—and it is still a good story today. This text reflects its era.
- Band
- Purple · Pre-readers and first readersTypical starting range: ages 4–5
- Length
- short · about 335 words in 4 sections · 4 pictures
- Source
- The Book of Nature Myths, Florence Holbrook
- 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
- 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.