Mr. Vinegar

From English Fairy Tales, collected by Joseph Jacobs

This reader is taken from English Fairy Tales, collected by Joseph Jacobs and first published in 1890. Jacobs gathered traditional stories told across England for many years. "Mr. Vinegar" is a humorous cautionary tale about a man who makes one foolish trade after another until he has nothing left. The story invites children to notice how wanting something new can sometimes mean losing what we already have. It remains a favourite for its silliness and its clear moral lesson.

Band

Yellow · Emerging readers, about 6 to 8

Length

medium · about 525 words in 5 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.