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The Talking Bird, the Singing Tree, and the Golden Water

A tale from The Arabian Nights, retold from the collection by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin and Nora Archibald Smith

This tale comes from The Arabian Nights, a collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian stories first translated into French in the early eighteenth century and retold many times since. Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin and Nora Archibald Smith retold this version in the early twentieth century. The story shows how jealousy and lies can harm innocent people, but truth and courage can set things right. A few period terms have been modernised. The tale teaches that we should not believe cruel accusations without proof, and that bravery, cleverness, and love can overcome even the worst injustice.

Band

Yellow · Emerging readersTypical starting range: ages 6–8

Length

medium · about 542 words in 6 sections · 4 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 (8 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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