Fairy Tale Writing Prompts – Start a Tale or Retell One

All 60 prompts

Start a new tale 16

A baker's bread makes anyone who eats it tell the truth. Tell the tale.
A dragon is afraid of fire. Tell how the village finds out.
A giant is too shy to come down from the hills. Who becomes his friend?
A king drops his crown in a river. A turtle will fetch it, for a price.
A mountain grants one wish every hundred years. Who climbs it this time?
A shepherd finds a lamb with golden wool. Who wants it, and what does he do?
A tailor sews a cloak that makes its wearer brave. Who needs it most?
A talking fox grants three wishes, but each one has a catch. Tell the tale.
A tiny knight rides a snail on a quest. What is the quest, and does he win?
A witch is tired of being feared. How does she change the village's mind?
An apprentice says the wrong magic word and the castle starts to float.
In a kingdom where it always rains, a girl finds one dry stone. Tell her tale.
Long ago, the moon fell into a well. Tell how the village put it back.
Once upon a time, a princess wanted to be a blacksmith. What happened next?
Two kingdoms share one bridge and one grumpy troll. How do they make peace?
The youngest of seven brothers finds a door in an oak tree. Where does it go?

Retell from another side 18

A bird tells why it ate the bread crumbs Hansel dropped on the path.
A robber tells what he saw at the window when the Bremen animals sang.
A stepsister tells the night of Cinderella's ball her own way.
Baby Bear tells what he found when the three bears came home.
The child who spoke up tells what the emperor's parade looked like.
The fox tells his plan for the gingerbread man at the river.
The frog tells how he felt when the golden ball splashed into his well.
The giant tells why he is so angry at Jack, the boy from the beanstalk.
The magic mirror is tired of the queen's question. What does it tell her?
One of the elves tells why they chose the shoemaker's shop.
The pea tells about its night under twenty mattresses and a princess.
Puss in Boots tells why a cat needs a pair of boots.
Rumpelstiltskin tells why he let the queen guess his name.
Sleeping Beauty's cook wakes after a hundred years. Tell his first morning.
Tell Little Red Riding Hood as the wolf. Why were you in the woods that day?
Tell the tale of the three little pigs as the wolf. What did you want?
The troll tells why the bridge of the three billy goats is his bridge.
Write one page of Rapunzel's diary from a day in the tower.

Change one thing 13

A character from a fairy tale walks into your classroom. What happens?
Give a fairy tale a new ending where nobody gets what they expected.
The hero of a tale you know says no to the quest. What happens to the kingdom?
The magic object in a tale you know breaks. What do the characters do?
Make the smallest character in a tale you know the hero.
Pick a fairy tale and move it to your town today. What changes first?
Retell a tale you know as a news report from the kingdom.
Retell a tale you know, but the villain says sorry halfway through.
Swap the hero and the helper in a tale you know. Tell the new story.
Tell a tale you know in deep winter. What goes wrong, and what goes right?
Tell a tale you know with no magic in it. How is the problem solved?
Two characters from different tales meet in one forest. What do they say?
Write a tale you know as letters between two of its characters.

After the ending 13

The dragon and the knight become neighbors. Write their first week.
The enchanted forest wants its quiet back. Write its letter to the kingdom.
The fairy godmother takes a day off. Who fills in, and how does it go?
The giant's castle in the clouds is empty now. Who moves in?
Happily ever after lasted one week. Then what happened at the castle?
The magic mirror gets a new owner who asks very different questions.
The royal wedding is over. Write the cook's diary for the day after.
The spell is broken, but the prince misses being a frog. Tell why.
The talking animals of the forest hold a meeting after the tale ends.
Ten years on, the hero and the villain meet at a market. What do they say?
The villagers build a statue of the hero. The hero does not like it. Why?
The wicked queen retires and opens a shop. What does she sell?
Years later, the hero's child finds the old magic sword. Tell the tale.

How it works

These 60 fairy tale writing prompts are in four sets: start a new tale, retell an old one from another side, change one thing, and carry on after the ending.

Read the full guide

Four ways into a tale

Start a new tale gives a character and a problem: a dragon afraid of fire, a moon that fell into a well. Retell from another side hands an old tale to someone else in it, such as the wolf, the troll or the pea. Change one thing and After the ending work with any tale the class knows.

Before writing

Read or tell the old tale first, so the writer knows whose side they are taking. To plan a new version, the fairy tale graphic organizer has a sheet for what changes and what stays the same.

Younger writers can draw the tale first: Draw and write, under More options, puts a picture space above the lines.

Questions and answers

What is a fairy tale?

A short story from folklore that usually has magic, enchantments and mythical or fanciful beings, such as giants, trolls, witches and talking animals.

How do you start a fairy tale?

Many begin Once upon a time, a phrase that has opened stories in English since at least 1380. Then name a place and someone who wants something: in a kingdom where it always rained, a girl found one dry stone.

How do I print a different fairy tale prompt?

Pick another set, or press New sheet under More options for another from the same set. All 60 are listed under the tool. Type prompts of your own in the box, one a line, up to nine on a page.

What grades are these fairy tale prompts for?

About grades 2 to 5, as our own suggestion; they follow no curriculum. The retelling prompts suit a class that has read the old tale together first.