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Why the Sea Is Salt

A folk tale from The Blue Fairy Book, by Andrew Lang

This folk tale comes from The Blue Fairy Book, a collection by Andrew Lang first published in 1889. Lang gathered stories from many countries; this one is a Norse tale explaining why the sea is salty. The original was told by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. The story teaches that greed brings trouble and that magic has rules—if you do not learn how to stop something powerful, it will not stop on its own.

Band

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

Length

short · about 395 words in 6 sections · 4 pictures

Source

The Blue Fairy Book, Andrew Lang

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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