The King of the Golden River
by John Ruskin
Ruskin's 1851 fairy tale. Two cruel brothers farm a rich valley and turn away everyone who asks for help, until a visitor called Southwest Wind, Esquire, blows their roof off and their luck with it. Their small brother Gluck is left to try the mountain and the river of gold himself.
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In a secluded and mountainous part of Stiria there was in old time a valley of the most surprising and luxuriant fertility. It was surrounded on all sides by steep and rocky mountains rising into peaks which were always covered with snow and from which a number of torrents descended in constant cataracts. One of these…John Ruskin, The King of the Golden RiverStart reading The King of the Golden River free →
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Good for English learners
Five short chapters, about nine thousand words in all. The shortest whole book on the site, and the gentlest way to find out what reading a book with chapters feels like.
Level A2. This is the original text, not a simplified or abridged version, so you read the real classic.
The King of the Golden River: reading level & FAQ
What reading level is The King of the Golden River?↓
The King of the Golden River is around A2 on the CEFR scale. It is a good fit for readers building toward or reading comfortably at that level.
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