The Leaves and the Roots

A fable retold from Fifty Famous Fables by Lida B. McMurry

This fable comes from Fifty Famous Fables, a 1908 collection by American educator Lida B. McMurry. The story teaches children that every part has value, even the parts we cannot see. The leaves do important work above ground, and the roots do important work below. Both are needed. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. Fables like this one help young readers think about how different jobs and different people all matter.

Band

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

Length

short · about 368 words in 4 sections · 4 pictures

Source

Fifty Famous Fables, Lida B. McMurry · 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

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.