The Darning-Needle

A fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen

This is a fairy tale by the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen, first published in the 1840s. Andersen is famous for stories like The Ugly Duckling and The Little Mermaid. The Darning-Needle is a humorous tale about pride and vanity. The needle thinks she is far too fine and important for ordinary work, but her pride leads her into one mishap after another. Andersen often gave human feelings to everyday objects to teach lessons about behaviour. This story reminds children that boasting and thinking too highly of yourself can lead to trouble—and that kindness and humility matter more than being "fine."

Band

Yellow · Emerging readers, about 6 to 8

Length

medium · about 513 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.