Fairy Tale Themes

Multiple Choice

What is the theme of a story?

• The message you should learn

• Another name for the conflict

• Another name for the solution

• The main characters of a story

​Theme

The theme of a story is the message that the author wants you to know. It does not contain details about the story. One theme could be used with main different stories.

Little Red Riding Hood went to the forest to visit her ill granny. She took some cake and lemonade in a basket. She met a wicked wolf that asked her which path she was taking. She replied, "I'm taking the path that leads to my granny's cottage."

While Little Red was busy picking flowers to take to her granny, the wolf went to the cottage and swallowed granny in one gulp. Then the wolf put on granny's cap, got in granny's bed, covered up in blankets, and settled in to wait. Red arrived at the cottage and came into granny's bedroom. She said, "Granny what big ears you have," and the wolf replied, "All the better to hear you with, my dear." And so on with Granny's eyes: "All the better to see you with, my dear," and teeth: "All the better to eat you with, my dear!"

The wolf swallowed Little Red in one gulp and then fell asleep. A woodsman came by while the wolf was still asleep. The woodsman cut the wolf open with his ax and out popped Granny and Red. Then the woodsman, Granny, and Little Red Riding Hood all sat down by the fire and enjoyed cake and lemonade.

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​Little Red Riding Hood

Multiple Choice

What is the theme of the story?

• Do not talk to strangers.

• Being smart is better than being strong.

• Work hard to get what you want.

• Being pretty is the most important thing.

Long ago there lived an lonely old carpenter named Geppetto. He made a puppet out of some wood, a ball, and a string. That night, a fairy visited and cast a spell that made the puppet walk and talk. The next morning, Geppetto discovered the animated puppet and named him Pinocchio. Geppetto gave Pinocchio all of his money and sent him into town to buy books for school. Instead, Pinocchio used to the money to buy a ticket for the circus. Two clowns gave Pinocchio a hat and asked him to stay, but he said he must go back to Geppetto.

The clowns returned Pinocchio's money, but on the way home he was robbed by an evil cat and an equally evil fox. The fairy appeared again and asked what happened; Pinocchio pretended he had been captured by a monster. Suddenly his nose grew, and the fairy said, "Whenever you lie, your nose will get bigger. Now go find Geppetto; he's out looking for you by the sea."

Pinocchio was rowing a small boat in the sea when he thought he heard Geppetto's voice coming from inside a large dark cave. He rowed inside, only to find himself inside a whale with Geppetto. He tickled the whale with a feather, and the whale sneezed, sending Pinocchio and Geppetto flying out on to the beach. Relieved, Pinocchio vowed never to lie again and then he heard the fairy's voice saying, "make that promise and you will become a real boy."

Pinocchio

Multiple Choice

What is the theme of the story?

• Circuses are bad.

• Never tell lies.

• Do not eat too much junk food.

• Lying will make your nose grow.

An old miller went before the King and, trying to impress him, told the King his daughter Rose could spin straw into gold. The King ordered the girl to be locked in a room full of straw. He said she was to spin the straw into gold or her head would be cut off. Rose began to cry, and suddenly a little man with a long gray beard appeared and said, "I will help you spin the straw into gold if you give me something in return." The first night, she gave him her ring. The second night, she gave him her necklace. But then she had nothing left to give. The little man wanted her first born child and Rose had to agree, or have her head cut off by the King for not spinning straw into gold.

The little man kept his promise, and the King made Rose his queen. When Rose had her first child, the little man with the gray beard came to take the baby away. Rose begged him not to take her child. He said he would not take the baby if Rose could guess his name. She had three days to come up with three guesses. Rose sent messengers out to spy on the little man and found out his name was actually Rumpelstilskin. And the baby remained with the king and queen.

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Rumpelstiltskin

Multiple Choice

What is the theme of the story?

• Straw and gold are the same thing.

• Lie to impress the king.

• Don't be greedy.

• Helping other people is not worth the trouble.

Hansel and Gretel were brother and sister. Their poor parents were starving, so they went out in search of food. They took one slice of bread along, which they used to mark a path back to their home by leaving crumbs along the way. After a while, they came upon a little house made of gingerbread. Hansel broke off a piece to eat.

Suddenly, the door flew open and an old woman came out and invited them in. She fed them mountains of pancakes and fruit, and then tucked them into bed to sleep. What Hansel and Gretel didn't realize was that the old woman was fattening them up so she could use them in her favorite dish... roasted child! Now they were prisoners, and the old woman kept feeding them. This gave Hansel and Gretel time to think of a plan.

Finally, the children worked together to escape and pushed the old woman into the oven. They filled their pockets with jewels and food and used the trail of bread crumbs to find their way back home, where they lived happily ever after.

​Hansel and Gretel

Multiple Choice

What is the theme of the story?

• Work together to solve problems.

• Look for food in the woods.

• Exercise every day

• It is okay to eat someone else's house.

Match

Match the theme to the correct story.

• Hard work pays off.

• Don't judge people before you get to know them.

• Don't give up on your dreams.

• Be careful what you wish for!

The Three Little Pigs

Beauty and the Beast

The Little Mermaid

King Midas

• The Three Little Pigs

• Beauty and the Beast

• The Little Mermaid

• King Midas

Open Ended

Write a short story that has the theme "Don't take things that don't belong to you."

Poll

How do you feel about your ability to pick out a theme for a story?

• This is easy for me.

• Most of the time I can do it.

• This is a little hard for me.

• I'm just guessing answers.