The Donkey and His Masters

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

This fable comes from Fifty Famous Fables, a collection published by Lida B. McMurry in the 1920s. The text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. Fables are short stories that teach a lesson through animal characters. This story shows what happens when someone complains about everything instead of being thankful for what they have. Children learn that always wanting something different can lead to losing what was good all along.

Band

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

Length

short · about 328 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.