The Old Woman and Her Pig

A fairy tale retold from English Fairy Tales, collected by Joseph Jacobs

This fairy tale comes from English Fairy Tales, collected by Joseph Jacobs and first published in 1890. Jacobs gathered traditional stories told across England for many years. This is a cumulative tale—a story that builds and builds by repeating and adding. The old woman meets many who could help but won't, until she learns that she must help first before others will help her. The story's rhythm and repetition have made it a favourite for over a century.

Band

Yellow · Emerging readers, about 6 to 8

Length

medium · about 559 words in 6 sections · 4 pictures

Source

English Fairy Tales, Joseph Jacobs · 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.