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The Fisherman and the Genie

From The Arabian Nights, retold by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin and Nora Archibald Smith

This tale is drawn from The Arabian Nights, a collection of Middle Eastern folk stories assembled over centuries and translated into English in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Wiggin and Smith edition was published in the early twentieth century with illustrations by Maxfield Parrish. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. The story is a narrative frame—the fisherman's encounter with the genie opens into a larger mystery involving the enchanted lake and the young prince turned half to stone. It rewards a reader with patience for delay and an ear for the moral logic of a folk tale: intelligence and courage matter more than strength, and an oath sworn by the name of God binds even a genie. Worth reading for its layered structure, the pleasure of a well-turned trick, and the questions it leaves hanging at the edge of the next chapter.

Band

Red · Complex language and analysisTypical starting range: ages 15–17

Length

long · about 1439 words in 4 sections · 2 pictures

Source

The Arabian Nights: Their Best-known Tales, Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin, Nora Archibald Smith and Maxfield Parrish

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 (10 questions) with answer key
• · Read-aloud script
• · Teacher’s Edition (members)

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