The Beetle Who Went on His Travels

A fairy tale retold from Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen wrote this comic tale in Denmark in the 1800s. A proud beetle expects golden shoes like the Emperor's horse, and when he doesn't get them, he sets out to prove his importance to the world. The story gently pokes fun at vanity and teaches that how we see ourselves may be very different from how others see us. Andersen's fairy tales are known and loved around the world for their wit, imagination, and wisdom.

Band

Yellow · Emerging readers, about 6 to 8

Length

medium · about 569 words in 6 sections · 4 pictures

Source

Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen, H. C. Andersen · Project Gutenberg

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

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.