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The Cruel Crane Outwitted

A tale from the Jataka, retold from Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs

This story comes from the Jataka tales, a collection of ancient Buddhist stories from India, retold by Joseph Jacobs in the nineteenth century. In the original, the Buddha appears as the Genius of the Tree who witnesses the events. This version keeps the central lesson: cleverness and courage can defeat cruelty. The crab's quick thinking and bravery save the remaining fish from the crane's lies. Young children learn that trickery is wrong, and that even a small creature can be a hero when others are in danger. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised.

Band

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

Length

short · about 341 words in 5 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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