The Black Douglas
From Fifty Famous Stories Retold, by James Baldwin
This story comes from Fifty Famous Stories Retold (1896) by American teacher James Baldwin. It is a legend from the time of King Robert Bruce of Scotland, who fought to keep his kingdom free from English rule in the 1300s. The Black Douglas was a real Scottish warrior, Sir James Douglas, famous for his courage and cleverness. This reader reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised. The story shows how bravery and surprise can win the day—and how even a feared warrior can show mercy.
- Band
- Yellow · Emerging readersTypical starting range: ages 6–8
- Length
- medium · about 526 words in 5 sections · 4 pictures
- Source
- Fifty Famous Stories Retold, James Baldwin
- 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 (8 questions) with answer key
- · Read-aloud script
- · Colouring page
- · Teacher’s Edition (members)
Lesson at a glance
- Reading
- about 9 minutes at this band
- Pause questions
- 2
- Words to Know
- 5
- Quick Check
- 8 questions, with the answer key
- Let’s Talk
- 3 questions for afterwards
- Worksheet
- questions, an activity and a drawing prompt
About 35 minutes with one story, all of it.
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.
Report a concern about this reader · What’s in a HummingRead reader
The same story
Other bands of this story
This story is ready now at the Yellow band only. Other bands can be made to order for members after launch.