What is a fary tale?

1. What are the elements of a
fairy tale?

2. A fairy tale is a magic story
which can not be true.

3. A fairy tale often has a beginning phrase
that indicates a distant past or make-believe
land.
Once upon a
time……
Once there was….
Long, long ago…

4. Fairy tales take place in made-up times
and places called settings.
Imaginary forest
Castle in the sky
Gingerbread house

5. Fairy tales have imaginary characters
that are good.

6. Fairy tales have imaginary characters
that are bad.

7. Fairy tales often have royal characters
such as queens, kings, princes, princesses
and sometimes a castle.

8. Imaginary characters like dragons,
fairies, elves, and giants are often in
fairy tales.

9. Characters in fairy tales often
have magical powers or magical
things.

10. Fairy tales may include magical
events.
• A wolf blows down a house made of
sticks.
• A gingerbread boy comes to life.
• A fairy godmother turns mice into
horses.
• A boy buys magic beans that grows
into a giant bean stalk.

11. Characters are sometimes filled with
greed and use tricks to get what they
want.

12. Things often appear or happen in
‘threes’ or ‘sevens’.

13. Wishes are often granted in fairy
tales.

14. There is often a problem which leads
to a solution which has a pleasing
outcome.

15. A difficult problem, often very
hard to solve is solved by the
end of the story.

16. Sometimes a lesson can
be learned from the
ending of the fairy tale.

17. A fairy tale has a pleasing ending and
often a happy ending phrase.
….and they
lived happily
ever after.

18. What kind of questions do you
ask to do a tale?

19. FAIRY TALE´S ELEMENTS
1. A fairy tale begins with "Once upon a time...”
2. Fairy tales happen in the long ago.
3. Fairy Tales have fantasy and make believe in them.
4. Fairy Tales have clearly defined Good characters vs. Evil
characters.
5. Royalty is usually present in a fairy tale, a beautiful
Princess/handsome prince.
6. There may be magic with giants, elves, talking animals, witches or
fairies.
7. Fairy tales have a problem that needs to be solved.
8. It often takes three tries to solve the problem.
9. Fairy tales have happy endings – “they all lived happily ever after.”
10. Fairy tales usually teach a lesson or have a theme.

20. Special beginning and/or ending words
~ Once upon a time...and they lived happily ever after. Sometimes, there’s a surprise ending…
Good character
~ Do you see a kind, innocent character? Is the good character clever? Is s/he helped by others?
Evil character
~ Do you see a witch? A demon? An evil stepmother? A sinister gnome?
In the end, the evil character usually loses somehow…
Royalty
~ Is there a castle? A prince? A princess? A king? A queen?
Poverty
~ Do you see a poor working girl, a poor family, a poor shepherd? – Do you see poor people trying to eke out a living to
have enough to eat
Magic and Enchantments
~ Do you see magical things happening? Do you see talking animals/objects? You might see fairies, trolls, elves, goblins,
etc.
Reoccurring Patterns / Numbers
~ Do you see any patterns? Often, you’ll see things, phrases, tasks appear in "threes," “sixes,” and/or "sevens"
Universal Truths
~ the tale probably touches on some universal experiences (i.e., coming of age) or hopes (i.e., to have enough food and
love)