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The Three Sillies

A folktale retold from English Fairy Tales, by Joseph Jacobs

Joseph Jacobs collected and published English Fairy Tales in 1890. "The Three Sillies" is a humorous folktale about silly worries and even sillier actions. The young man travels to find foolishness greater than what he left behind, and he succeeds. Folktales like this one teach children to think clearly and not worry about things that may never happen. The story rewards common sense and shows that laughter is a good cure for silliness. This text reflects its era.

Band
Yellow · Emerging readersTypical starting range: ages 6–8
Length
medium · about 564 words in 6 sections · 4 pictures
Source
English Fairy Tales, Joseph Jacobs
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 10 minutes at this band
Pause questions
2
Words to Know
6
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.

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The same story

The Three Sillies at other bands

Green band

The Three Sillies

Joseph Jacobs

medium · 844 words · also in Yellow

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