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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#88: Fairy Tale Truths

Did you know that April 2nd marks Hans Christian Andersen’s 216th birthday? Andersen’s work has been adapted and reimagined so many times it's become part of our literary DNA. In fact, it's hard to imagine the world of fairy tales without them. And while some were based on old folklore, many sprang from his own imagination — sometimes even incorporating details of his life and using the genre's fantastical trappings to write parables about his experiences.

This week we invite you to use your stories to explore larger truths. Whether you set them in a magical fairy tale realm or not, stories are a wonderful way to examine important ideas. So sit back, reflect, and prepare to let your imagination run wild through the forest.

This week's prompts

Write a cautionary fable about someone who always lies.

Adults – 116 stories

Write a story about an ordinary person speaking truth to power.

Adults – 68 stories

Write about a prince or princess who is asked to give up something valuable as part of a deal to escape the world they come from.

Fantasy – 190 stories

Write a fairy tale about an outsider trying to fit in.

Kids – 173 stories

Write about an author famous for their fairy tale retellings.

Teens – 73 stories

Stories

“Soul-Fire” by Laurence Tryon

Submitted to Contest #88

Pale embers and a scattering of ashes… That was all that remained of the bright burning fire my soul had been at birth. The daughter of a Heavenly King should never feel so weak. I fell to earth only fourteen years ago to experience mortality, entrusted to earthly parents by my father. My soul-fire shone bright in childhood. My dimpled smile attracted many a cheek pinching from my older earth relatives. It was a gloriously free time, cocooned in the love of my live-in maternal grandmother. I was a bright child, full of sunlight and joy. Some...

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“Dear Sakura, I'll Always Love You” by Nuala Roberts

Submitted to Contest #88

Trigger Warning: Suicide and Abuse MentionsThe cherry blossoms shower down. Sakura. I never understood you, but I do now.You tried so hard to bear the weight of the world. You got good grades, looked after your four younger siblings, worked two jobs, cared for your sick mother and still found time to protest. I asked so many times why. Your mother was an addict. You were your own person, you couldn't look after yourself and five people. I told you over and over, "There are children in the care of an unfit mother. Report her, save them, save ...

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“An Ordinary Person” by Josephine Andersen

Submitted to Contest #88

An Ordinary PersonThe excitement was reaching a crescendo. Agatha, the proud owner of the North, South Art Gallery stood at her desk anticipating the moment when she would reach the peak of her career.The crowds were gathering and had started to pour through the gallery entrance. The Wandsworths were there, Elaine and Alan, Elaine, dressed in her Louis Vuitton outfit and clutching a handbag from the same fashion house. On her arm was a Breitling watch and round her neck a Montblanc Souvenir D’etoile. Alan was in a Brioni ...

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“Cassia” by Victoria Bogatz

Submitted to Contest #88

Being a girl in the world of the Colosseum was tough. Trying to pull two lions into their cages was no tougher. Neither was bartering with the man who didn’t take me seriously. It was just part of the job. I was an assistant then, for Marcellus, the show director. His main job was to put on shows that would entertain our high and mighty emperor. His secondary job was to discourage me as much as possible. On my first day, he said I should leave because this “wasn’t a woman’s place.” I told him I’m here to stay, and anyone who tries to stop...

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“Carnation” by T.H. Sherlock

Submitted to Contest #88

April 2021‘Time for bed children.’Tomas ran around the cosy pink and white bedroom, his tiny chest thrust forward and his head flung back whilst his arms moved up and down like a plane fighting against the wind. His lips puckered in protest.His sister, Gabriela, just a few years’ older, looked up from her book and noted the faded, watery eyes behind the rims of her grandmother’s glasses. She pulled at her grandmother’s dressing gown sleeve with affection. ‘Avo Cravo, will you tell us a story?’Tomas’s plane fizzed and dived, before hitting th...

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“What is it worth ?” by Rachel Quirey

Submitted to Contest #88

Nathan loved his life to the full. He was a Prince among men, the eldest and next in line to the throne. The kingdom was very great in land and richness, but it also had resources, valuable to the rest of their neighbours. What more could a man want in the prime of his life ?. There was one thing, he longed for since childhood. That was to feel love, real true love, and not the stiff upper lip kind. A shake of the hand, peck on the cheek. His family was considerably stand offish when it came to any show of affection. Even if it was for a chi...

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“A Thousand Steps” by Hxmda A.A

Submitted to Contest #88

The world was quiet tonight. Anissa grabbed a handful of her dress, rushing down the stone steps into the vast royal garden, breathing hard, eyebrows narrowed with worry. Up in the dark night sky shone a large full circle, illuminating the pretty flowers growing around her. It was a full moon. She had been locked up in her tower for so long that she had almost forgotten how beautiful the night sky was. It had been years. Her father, the King of Drakva had ordered her locked up after he discovered her threatening powers, locking them away ...

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“Tyrone, the planet parallel to Earth.” by وداد أكرم

Submitted to Contest #88

Armies are on standby for confrontation, we are in the year 6932 and the battle 800 between the two most conflicted kingdoms of the planet Tyrone, the planet parallel to Earth,in the seventh of the ten worlds in the Galaxy. Here Prince nosti of the kingdom of agand prepares himself and his battalion for battle. "Everyone to the front lines, get ready for battle, everyone to the front lines, come on fast we don't want of delay."Prince nosti . "Sir commander, the sixth group of the battalion is having a hard time controlling its anim...

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“Prince Akio” by Eva Parker

Submitted to Contest #88

Trigger Warning: Mentions of Gore and Depression I sat on my floor. I didn’t feel like getting up. No, I couldn’t get up. It was like the weight of the world was crushing me to the ground. Lupa moved brushing her dark fur against my face. My empty gaze shifted to her magnificent face. She whined but I didn’t budge. This was all my fault. Every death… My mistake. ~ ~ ~ “Good morning Akio,” Ryu said as he put down a basket. &nb...

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“The Realm of Zinombria” by Yashaa Bajracharya

Submitted to Contest #88

Rosalind looked in the gold framed mirror, the intricate designs of roses intertwining each other. As her green eyes rested on her reflection, she studied the expression of boredom on her face. As her servant and only friend in the castle, Miriam, braided her long blonde hair back, she sighed."Is everything alright?" Miriam asked. Rosalind was glad she had stopped calling her 'Your Highness' or 'Your Majesty'."No, Miriam, you know quite well it's not," Rosalind replied, with another sigh."If this is about you making plans to run away from th...

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“The Last Time” by Katie M

Submitted to Contest #88

He glanced with dismay at the sight before him. It was as if a bomb had exploded, debris scattered everywhere before his eyes. The former town hall reduced to rubble. Grass burned to charcoal black. Even though it was projected from merely a screen, the image was as worse as if he was there. Guilt racked Curtis, knowing full well that this was because of his ignorance. Curtis had made mistakes. He had been a selfish man. Heck, he still was a selfish man. He knew this. His people knew this. Regardless, they supported him, not because they l...

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“Dead Man's Princess” by E.C. Nickelson

Submitted to Contest #88

I was your princess, not in your typical sense of the word. I wasn't royalty, not by a long shot. I wasn't from some big, hot-shot family of nobility. Hell! I didn't even really know my family of mob bosses, criminals, lovers, fighters, and Native Americans. But I knew that somewhere, to somebody, I was a princess. I’d learned that from watching The Little Princess with Miss Sara Crew. My world was about to change, for better or worse, I had yet to discover. I was about to trade my life f...

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“The Prince’s Braid” by Jerry Wang

Submitted to Contest #88

Her delicate fingers ran over my smooth black hair, carefully undoing the long braid. It was considered taboo for princes to be seen in public without the braid, and even more taboo for a commoner to touch a prince’s hair. But I was already breaking more than a few rules by being here. “Is something wrong?” Ayusha asked. I turned around to see her looking at me with concern. Her head was tilted down, and her short hair fell in front, obscuring the sides of her face from view. I smiled and leaned in, touching my forehead to hers. “Nothing...

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“My crown ” by Sima Igiehon

Submitted to Contest #88

My name is anamaria. I lived a normal life, that was until the circle of gold was placed upon my head. Then the responsibility that came with this was immeasurable. I walked around feeling important, and ‘up there’ if I may. I was told about many rules that i had to follow and of which these were: I may not leave the palace walls without consent from the security guard’s wife’s best friend’s sister’s cousin’s - you get the point. I am trying to say that the crown meant a lot to my family and I could never let it go or else I would be dead. ...

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“One Empress's Granddaughter” by John Walsh

Submitted to Contest #88

Princess Malala XXIII did not enjoy cleaning up cow flops but Kamadhendu had the same right to freedom as any other animal and was not intelligent enough to be taught to go in out of the way places. She was Malala’s cow-friend so it would be unfair to expect someone else to clean up after her. After she put the shovelful on the pile, she went to her mom, Princess Malala XXII. She had more serious issues on her mind than cow flops. &nbs...

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$50

Prize money

622

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Apr 09, 2021 EST

Won by Shannon Ethel 🏆

Title: No More Happy Endings

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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