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The Lion and the Crane

A fable from Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs

This fable comes from the Jataka tales, ancient Buddhist stories from India that teach lessons about how to treat others. Joseph Jacobs collected it in Indian Fairy Tales, first published in 1892. The Jataka version uses a lion, while the more familiar Western version (from Aesop and others) uses a wolf and a crane. This story teaches children that helping others is good, but we should also say thank you and be kind to those who help us. Even the smallest and bravest act of kindness deserves gratitude. This text reflects its era.

Band

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

Length

short · about 401 words in 4 sections · 4 pictures

Source

Indian Fairy Tales, Joseph Jacobs and John Dickson Batten

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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