The Magpie's Nest

A fairy tale from English Fairy Tales, by Joseph Jacobs

This fairy tale comes from English Fairy Tales, a collection published by Joseph Jacobs in 1890. It is a "pourquoi" story—a tale that explains why something in nature is the way it is. Jacobs gathered traditional stories from across England, retelling them for children. This story teaches a gentle lesson about patience and listening, while showing young readers that even birds have their own ways of doing things. The magpie really is known for building complex, dome-shaped nests, more elaborate than most other British birds.

Band

Yellow · Emerging readers, about 6 to 8

Length

medium · about 522 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.