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The Fox and the Farmer

A nursery rhyme from Mother Goose, illustrated by John Gilbert, Walter Crane, John Tenniel, Harrison Weir and Johann Baptist Zwecker

This nursery rhyme comes from Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes, a collection illustrated by some of the finest Victorian artists. The story follows a cunning fox who sneaks into a farmyard on a moonlit night, hoping to steal the farmer's birds. Like many traditional rhymes, it shows consequences for bad choices and the farmer protecting what is his. The rhythm and repetition make it memorable, and the "heigho!" refrain gives it a playful tone even as the fox meets his end. This text reflects its era; a few period terms have been modernised.

Band

Yellow · Emerging readersTypical starting range: ages 6–8

Length

medium · about 553 words in 5 sections · 4 pictures

Source

Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes, John Gilbert, Walter Crane, John Tenniel, Harrison Weir and Johann Baptist Zwecker

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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