Fairy Tale Themes

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.

• Do not talk to strangers

• Work hard

• Being smart is better than being strong

• Being pretty is not most important

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 and 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, ìWhenever you lie, your nose will get bigger. Now go find Geppetto; he's out looking for you by the sea.î

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. Relived, 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.î

• Never tell lies

• Do not eat too much junk food

• Circuses are bad

• Lying will make your nose grow

Jack and his mother were hungry. The cow in the barn gave them milk, but they needed food. Jack's mother said, We must sell the cow to get some food. Jack volunteered to take the cow to town. Along the way, Jack met a farmer who talked him into giving up the cow in exchange for a handful of good luck beans.

When Jack returned home, his mother was very angry because they lost their cow for a few beans. She threw the beans out the window and went to bed. The beans began to grow straight up into the sky, so Jack climbed the beanstalk hoping to find good luck at the top.

Instead, he found himself in a giant's castle. The giant was counting his money and singing fee, fie, foe, fum, I like children in my tum tum. The giant's wife helped Jack hide so the giant wouldn't eat him. Then Jack realized something and said, "Hey, this giant stole my father's money!" The giant's wife said, "This magic hen and golden harp used to belong to your father too. Play the harp, and then run!"

Jack played the harp, and the giant fell asleep. Jack grabbed the money and the hen and started running. But on the way outside, he knocked over the harp and woke the giant up. The giant chased Jack all the way down the beanstalk chanting fee, fie, foe, fum. When Jack reached the bottom, he chopped down the beanstalk with an ax. The giant was no more. Then the magic hen clucked and laid a golden egg. Jack's mother, awakened by all the noise, took the golden egg, put it with the money, and said, Now we'll have something nice to eat!

• Good defeats evil

• Magic hens are cool

• Be nice

• Chop down beanstalks

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. 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.

• Do not be greedy

• Straw and gold are alike

• Learn people's names

• Lie to impress people

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.

• Work together to solve problems

• Never eat candy

• Look for food in the woods

• Exercise every day

There once was a family of bears: mama bear, papa bear, and baby bear. They were just about to eat their lunch, but their porridge was too hot, so they went for a walk in the woods. Just then a little girl named Goldilocks came upon their house and went inside. She saw the three bowls of porridge on the table and tasted some from each bowl. The big bowl was too hot, the medium-sized bowl was too cold, but the smallest bowl was just right, so she ate it all up.

The she saw three chairs and decided to sit down. The big chair was too hard, the medium-sized chair was too soft, but the little chair was just right. As Goldilocks was getting comfortable in the smallest chair, it broke. So, she went in the next room and found the beds. The big bed was too hard, the medium-sized bed was too soft, but the little bed was just right, and Goldilocks fell last asleep.

Just then, the three bears came home to find their house in a mess. Papa bear said, "Someone's been eating my porridge." Mama bear said the same thing, and baby bear said, "Someone's been eating my porridge, and they ate it all up!" Then they saw the chairs and papa bear said, "Someoneís been sitting in my chair." Mama bear said the same thing, and then baby bear said, "Someone's been sitting in my chair, and they broke it!"

Then they went into the next room and found Goldilocks asleep in baby bear's bed. When she awoke, she was so frightened she ran out of the bears' house and didn't stop running till she got home.

• Think about how your actions affect others

• Let porridge cool before you eat it

• Don't leave your doors unlocked

• Clean up your messes

A swan is born into a family of ducks. During his early years, he is ridiculed and cast out by his family and other animals of the pond for his ugliness. When he grows up, he eventually catches his reflection in a pond and realizes that he has grown into a beautiful swan. The swan then enjoys life as a beautiful animal.

• Don't worry about other people's opinions

• Ducks are mean

• Being pretty is most important

• Work to be beautiful