Old King Cole

From Mother Goose in Prose, by L. Frank Baum

L. Frank Baum published Mother Goose in Prose in 1897, turning familiar nursery rhymes into short stories. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. In this tale, a wandering fiddler who takes life as it comes becomes king through an old law, and brings laughter and music to a kingdom that had forgotten how to be merry. The story reminds young readers that kindness and joy are just as important as crowns and thrones.

Band

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

Length

short · about 357 words in 4 sections · 4 pictures

Source

Mother Goose in Prose, L. Frank Baum · 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
• · Colouring page

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.