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The History of Whittington

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

Dick Whittington is a poor boy who walks to London hoping for a better life. In the city he finds work, makes a friend, and sends his only possession — a cat — on a ship across the sea. This story has been told in England for hundreds of years and shows how kindness, patience and a little bit of luck can change everything. The text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. Andrew Lang collected this tale in The Blue Fairy Book, published in the nineteenth century. The real Richard Whittington was Lord Mayor of London three times.

Band

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

Length

short · about 355 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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