Fairy Tale Crossword Puzzle Printable

Print a criss-cross fairy tale crossword of things, places and creatures from the old tales, with its answer key.

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Fairy Tale Crossword

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Answer key: Fairy Tale Crossword

1CO2WIT3CHA4M5B6GLA7SSSLIPPERPTRAILRNNEOSDRT8WL9GIANT10TOWERLL11PUMPKIN12FISH

Across 2 WITCH · 6 GLASSSLIPPER · 9 GIANT · 10 TOWER · 11 PUMPKIN · 12 FISH

Down 1 COW · 3 CASTLE · 4 MIRROR · 5 BEANSTALK · 7 SPINDLE · 8 WOLF

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Things in the Tales 49

  • Axe Jack calls to his mother for one and chops the stalk in two
  • Bag Puss in Boots: with strings to pull it shut, it catches the king's presents
  • Ball The Frog Prince: golden, it rolls away into the spring
  • Beanstalk Jack and the ___, the English tale of a climb above the clouds
  • Bed The Three Bears: the little one is just right, and the visitor falls fast asleep
  • Bells Whittington and His Cat: at Bow they seem to say 'Turn again'
  • Belt The Valiant Little Tailor: he stitches 'Seven at one stroke' on it
  • Bone Hansel and Gretel: Hansel holds out a little one in place of his finger
  • Bricks The Three Little Pigs: the third house is built of them, and it stands
  • Cage The Golden Bird: the bird must stay in its plain wooden one, the prince is told
  • Cap Little Red Riding Hood: in the Grimm tale hers is a little one of red velvet
  • Chair The Three Bears: the smallest one breaks when the visitor sits in it
  • Chimney The Three Little Pigs: the last way in, straight down into a pot
  • Churn The Three Little Pigs: bought at the fair, it rolls down the hill with the pig inside
  • Cloak The Twelve Dancing Princesses: whoever puts it on becomes invisible
  • Clock Cinderella: it strikes twelve, and she runs
  • Coach Cinderella: gilded all over, it waits to carry her away
  • Comb Snow White: the queen's second trick, after the laces and before the fruit
  • Cradle Thumbelina: hers is a polished walnut shell
  • Dress Cinderella: in the Grimm tale a friendly bird brings her a splendid one
  • Egg The Ugly Duckling: the largest one in the nest is the last to hatch
  • Feathers Mother Holle: when they fly from her shaken quilt, it snows in the world
  • Flax Tom Tit Tot: the girl must spin five skeins of it in a day
  • Glass slipper Cinderella: what she leaves behind as she runs home, and it fits only her foot
  • Gold Mother Holle: a shower of it falls on the girl who worked hard
  • Hair Rapunzel: 'Let down your ___ to me'
  • Harp Jack's third prize from up the stalk: a golden one that sings
  • Hazel Cinderella: in the Grimm tale she plants a twig of it, and it grows into a fine tree
  • Key Iron Hans: it lies under the queen's pillow, the wild man says
  • Ladder Rapunzel: she means to weave one from skeins of silk
  • Leaf Thumbelina: its stalk is gnawed through, and she floats away on it
  • Leather The Elves and the Shoemaker: he has just enough left for one pair
  • Loom The Emperor's New Clothes: two swindlers pretend to work hard at an empty one
  • Mirror Snow White: the queen asks it who is fairest of all
  • Name Rumpelstiltskin: the queen has three days to find out his
  • Necklace Rumpelstiltskin: the girl's first payment to the little man
  • Oven Hansel and Gretel: the old woman heats it and says they will bake first
  • Pebbles Hansel and Gretel: white ones glitter in the moonlight and show the way home
  • Plate The Frog Prince: golden, and the frog wants to eat from it
  • Ring Rumpelstiltskin: the second payment, taken from her finger
  • Scissors Rapunzel: snip, snap, and the long braids lie on the ground
  • Shoes The Twelve Dancing Princesses: found worn through every morning
  • Sledge The Snow Queen: Kay ties his little one to a great white one and is carried off
  • Spindle Sleeping Beauty: she pricks her hand on it and falls asleep
  • Straw Rumpelstiltskin: a great heap of it must be spun by morning
  • Tulip Thumbelina: the flower she is found in looks like one
  • Voice The Little Mermaid: the price she pays for a pair of legs
  • Wand Cinderella: one tap of it, and a carriage appears
  • Wheel Rumpelstiltskin: the little man sits down at it, whistles and sings

Places in the Tales 32

  • Bridge Molly Whuppie: hers is one single strand wide, and only she can cross it
  • Castle Sleeping Beauty: everyone in it sleeps for a hundred years
  • Cave Henny-Penny: Foxy-woxy's, behind a narrow, dark hole
  • China The Nightingale: the country where the emperor's house is all of porcelain
  • Cottage Snow White: the little house among the hills where she hides
  • Den Thumbelina: she spends the winter in a snug one under the stubble
  • Farmyard The Ugly Duckling: here the other birds bite him, push him and make fun of him
  • Forest Hansel and Gretel: the children are led deep into it, twice
  • Garden Rapunzel: behind a high wall, full of the most beautiful flowers and herbs
  • Grove The Twelve Dancing Princesses: under the trap-door, its leaves are all of silver
  • Hedge Sleeping Beauty: in the Grimm tale it grows higher every year, thick with thorns
  • Hut Rumpelstiltskin: the little man dances on one leg in front of his
  • Kingdom The Valiant Little Tailor: half of one is the promised reward
  • Kitchen Sleeping Beauty: in the Grimm tale its boy is about to get a box on the ear
  • Lake The Twelve Dancing Princesses: twelve little boats wait at its side
  • Lapland The Snow Queen: the far northern land of snow and ice on the way to Kay
  • London Whittington and His Cat: the great city where Dick hopes to make his fortune
  • Market Jack sets off for it and meets a funny-looking old man on the way
  • Mill Puss in Boots: all that the eldest son inherits
  • Moor The Ugly Duckling: he flies on to a large one and stays there his first night away
  • Mountain The Seven Ravens: the brothers' home stands on one made of glass
  • Palace The Little Mermaid: her father's has walls of coral and windows of amber
  • Path Little Red Riding Hood: in the Grimm tale her mother tells her not to run off it
  • River Puss in Boots: Puss tells his master to bathe in it as the king drives by
  • Roof The Snow Queen: Kay and Gerda's rose boxes stand high up on it
  • Sea The Fisherman and His Wife: it grows darker and wilder each time he comes to ask for more
  • Sky Henny-Penny: she is sure it is going to fall
  • Stable Hansel and Gretel: Hansel is locked in a little one, behind a grated door
  • Stairs Cinderella: in the Grimm tale the king's son has them smeared with pitch
  • Tower Rapunzel: it has no door, only a little window at the top
  • Village Little Red Riding Hood: in Perrault's tale she must walk to another one
  • Well Mother Holle: the way down to a sunny meadow

Who Is in the Tale 26

  • Captain Whittington and His Cat: he sells the cat to a king plagued by mice
  • Child The Emperor's New Clothes: the first one to say he has nothing on
  • Cook Whittington and His Cat: bad-tempered, she makes Dick's days hard
  • Dwarf Snow White: one of seven small miners who take her in
  • Enchantress Rapunzel: she takes the baby as the price of stolen salad leaves
  • Fairy Sleeping Beauty: in Perrault's tale seven are invited, and an old one is not
  • Giant The Valiant Little Tailor: two of them, asleep under a tree, are tricked into a fight
  • Godmother Cinderella: she warns the girl not to stay past midnight
  • Grandmother Little Red Riding Hood: she lives on the far side of the wood and is unwell
  • Hobgoblin Rumpelstiltskin: what one old translation calls the little man
  • Huntsman Little Red Riding Hood: in the Grimm tale he hears loud snoring and looks in
  • Marquis Puss in Boots: the grand title Puss invents for his master
  • Mayor Whittington and His Cat: 'Thrice Lord ___', Dick hears, and so it turns out
  • Merchant Whittington and His Cat: Mr. Fitzwarren, Dick's rich master
  • Miller Rumpelstiltskin: his boast to the king starts all the trouble
  • Minister The Emperor's New Clothes: honest and old, he is the first sent to look
  • Ogre Puss in Boots: he can change his shape, and that is his undoing
  • Peddler Snow White: the queen disguises herself as an old one to sell laces
  • Robber The Bremen Town Musicians: one of the gang scared out of the house in the woods
  • Soldier The Twelve Dancing Princesses: an old one follows them and learns the secret
  • Stepmother Hansel and Gretel: it is her plan to leave the children in the woods
  • Stepsister Cinderella: one of two who try in vain to squeeze a foot into the slipper
  • Weaver The Emperor's New Clothes: what each of the two swindlers claims to be
  • Widow Jack's mother, poor and alone with her only son
  • Witch Hansel and Gretel: old as the hills, she walks on crutches
  • Woodcutter Hansel and Gretel: the children's poor father is one

Animals in the Tales 31

  • Bee The Queen ___, the Grimm tale where she finds the honey on the youngest daughter's lips
  • Boar The Valiant Little Tailor: it charges after him into a chapel and is shut in
  • Butterfly Thumbelina: a white one, tied with her sash, pulls her along the stream
  • Cow Jack's Milky-white, traded away on the road
  • Crow The Snow Queen: a kindly one tells Gerda about a prince who may be Kay
  • Dog The Tinder-Box: three guard the money, the first with eyes as big as teacups
  • Donkey The Bremen Town Musicians: the first to set out, too old to carry sacks
  • Dove Cinderella: in the Grimm tale two white ones fly in first to help her
  • Duck Hansel and Gretel: a white one carries the children over the water
  • Fish The Fisherman and His Wife: an enchanted prince, caught and put back
  • Fox The Golden Bird: his good advice is ignored again and again
  • Goose The Golden ___, the Grimm tale where all who touch the bird stick fast
  • Hedgehog The Hare and the ___, the Grimm tale of a race won by a trick
  • Hen Jack's second prize from up the stalk: she lays when told 'Lay'
  • Horse Cinderella: each of the six mice becomes a fine dapple-grey one
  • Lion Puss in Boots: the fierce shape that sends Puss scrambling up to the gutter
  • Lizard Cinderella: six of them, found behind the watering pot, become footmen
  • Mole Thumbelina: the rich neighbor in a black velvet coat
  • Mouse Puss in Boots: the tiny shape his enemy takes at last, and Puss pounces
  • Partridge Puss in Boots: a brace of them is the next gift for the king
  • Rabbit Puss in Boots: one from the warren is the king's first present
  • Rat Cinderella: with his fine whiskers he makes a jolly coachman
  • Reindeer The Snow Queen: he carries Gerda on his back toward the north
  • Rooster The Bremen Town Musicians: his cry in the dark sounds like a judge calling out
  • Snake The White ___, the Grimm tale of a servant who learns the speech of animals
  • Swallow Thumbelina: she warms one back to life, and later it flies her south
  • Swan The Ugly Duckling: what the duckling turns out to be
  • Toad Thumbelina: a large wet one carries her off as a bride for her son
  • Turkey Henny-Penny: the last bird to join the walk to the king
  • Unicorn The Valiant Little Tailor: it runs its horn into a tree and is caught
  • Wolf Little Red Riding Hood: he asks where she is going, then gets there first

Food in the Tales 23

  • Apple Snow White: rosy on the outside, it is the queen's third trick
  • Barleycorn Thumbelina: planted in a flower-pot, a special one grows into her flower
  • Beans Jack is paid five magic ones, and his mother throws them out
  • Bread Hansel and Gretel: the old woman's little house is built of it
  • Breakfast The Three Bears: the meal left cooling while they walk in the wood
  • Butter Little Red Riding Hood: in Perrault's tale a little pot of it goes along
  • Cake Hansel and Gretel: the little house in the woods is covered with it
  • Cheese The Valiant Little Tailor: soft and old, it is squeezed in a contest of strength
  • Corn Henny-Penny: she is picking it up in the yard when something hits her
  • Crumbs Hansel and Gretel: the second trail, picked up by thousands of birds
  • Dough Hansel and Gretel: the old woman has kneaded it already
  • Jam The Valiant Little Tailor: spread on his loaf, it draws the flies
  • Loaves Snow White: seven little ones are set out, and she nibbles a bit of each
  • Milk Jack's family lives on it until one morning there is none
  • Nuts Little Red Riding Hood: in Perrault's tale she stops to gather them
  • Pea The Princess and the ___, Andersen's tale of twenty mattresses
  • Pies Tom Tit Tot: five are baked too hard, and the daughter eats them all
  • Porridge The Three Bears: the smallest pot of it is neither too hot nor too cold
  • Pumpkin Cinderella: scooped out, it becomes a carriage
  • Rampion Rapunzel: the salad plant her mother longs for, also called rapunzel
  • Strawberries The Three Little Men in the Wood: the girl must find them in the snow
  • Sugar Hansel and Gretel: the clear panes of the old woman's house are made of it
  • Turnips The Three Little Pigs: the pig is asked to fetch them at six, and goes at five

How this list was compiled: Clues written for this site from the old tales as they were printed, in five sets: things, places, people, animals and food. Each fact was checked in a public-domain text on Project Gutenberg (gutenberg.org): the Grimms' tales in two translations, Perrault's Fairy Tales, Joseph Jacobs's English Fairy Tales and Andersen's Fairy Tales. No clue was copied from a published puzzle. Licence: own work

How it works

This fairy tale crossword puzzle, printable on Letter or A4, opens on 12 easy words, among them Castle, Spindle, Glass slipper and Beanstalk. Every clue names its tale, or its hero where the title would give the answer away.

Read the full guide

Five sets, from spindles to strawberries

Things in the Tales has Comb, Necklace and Churn. Places in the Tales has Hedge, Grove and Lapland. Who Is in the Tale has Huntsman, Marquis and Enchantress. Animals in the Tales has Partridge, Swallow and Unicorn. Food in the Tales has Rampion, Turnips and Strawberries.

The tale as it was printed

Clues follow the old books, which can differ from a film. In the Grimm tale the witch's house is built of bread and covered with cakes, with windows of clear sugar. The collections are Grimm, Perrault, Andersen and Joseph Jacobs's English Fairy Tales.

  • After a read-aloud, look for that tale's clues in the list: Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel have 14 each.

Questions and answers

Is the fairy tale crossword free to print with an answer key?

Yes, and no account is needed. Print gives the puzzle with its clues, and the answer key comes out last, on a sheet of its own.

What grade is the fairy tale crossword for?

Easy Fairy Tale Words suits grades 2 to 4, with answers such as Wolf, Bed and Cake. The five themed sets suit grades 4 to 6 and readers who know the less famous tales. These bands are our judgment, not a published standard.

Which fairy tales are in the puzzle?

Thirty-eight, among them Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin, Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling and Thumbelina.

Is Cinderella's slipper glass or gold?

Both, in different books. In Perrault's tale a fairy godmother turns a pumpkin into a coach, and the slipper is glass. In the Grimm tale a bird in a hazel tree brings the dress, and the last pair of slippers is all of gold.

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