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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

“The Dragon's Tail” by Beverly Severin Fearon

Submitted to Contest #88

Purgon looked at himself in the calm lake. He sighed. All of his dragon friends had already grown their tail spikes or ridges. His tail was as smooth as a baby dragon's butt. “Baby butt tail, baby butt tail, baby butt tail" the other dragons sang at him every day and then they would laugh. Sometimes even his best friend would join in on the teasing. Hadex was the one that led the name-calling. He was a little older than the other dragons in class. Hadex not only had spikes that came out of his head and twisted aroun...

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“Hans Brandt and the Ballet Shoes” by Charlotte Geddes

Submitted to Contest #88

The best day of Hans Brandt’s life was a quiet sunny day on a stage in March 1890. He halted down-stage. His brown eyes peeled wide with wonder as Amalie Bauer swept past. Pale pink tulle ruffles flowed around her ankles. Ivory ribbons adorned her legs. Red hair spiralled about her shoulders, radiant curls brighter even than the sun. A smile lit up her lips, and a twinkle danced behind her eyes as she turned to him and extended her hand. Every bone in his body screamed at him to pick up his own pace, that his steps were due mere seconds away...

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“The Forever Alone Outcast ” by Lucia Eugenia Esquivez Tobar

Submitted to Contest #88

It was dark. But the darkness was peaceful, wrapped in a blanket of the stars, and the beautiful glow of the moon. That earthly aroma hit, as the rain came down. Beautiful rainy days are angelic in a way that suits this personality most. My mother once gave me some advice that I had been turning over and over in my mind, ever since. “Not everyone deserves to know the real you,” she had said, “Let people criticize who they think you are, as long as you know who you really are it doesn't matter, what they think of you .” My mother had not said...

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“The Four Gremlins of Gremlinville” by Shelly Wota

Submitted to Contest #88

Way, way down in the southern part of Gremlinland there are 4 gremlin boys discussing the fact that the sheriff has retired, and the mayor will be interviewing for a replacement. Noddy and his twin brother, Soddy, were playing in the tall grass behind the old post office with their friends, Esme, and the mayor’s son, Wassy. “Did you hear that the sheriff is retiring?” asks Soddy. “Has your father said anything?” que...

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“The Wasps” by Rebekah Marriner

Submitted to Contest #88

She was supposed to be born on the first of April. In utero she considered this to be a bad move, a foolish foreboding that would perhaps taint the rest of her life. So, she found herself a comfortable position and waited the day out. The trouble was, she got too comfortable, she fermented in the amniotic sac, her skin wrinkled and she began to shrink. The Gods did not like that she was forgoing this wonderful opportunity that was life so they came together to discuss the situation. How she was to be delivered was to be left to the humans. T...

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“A World I Finally Belong” by E.M Hallett

Submitted to Contest #88

I never imagined the depth I would need to dive to feel like I belonged in this world that I was thrusted into. Meeting the expectations of royalty could be a struggle, especially for someone like me. I was used to my father yelling at me to brush my hair, put on my makeup, wear my flowing dress, all before it was 6:30 in the morning. I was never allowed to leave my room until I did the things, he demanded of me, and it felt suffocating. I was never going to be my own person, because I was forced to become an extensi...

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“Alien” by Fatima Mohammed

Submitted to Contest #88

Peter learned that men should never cry or show 'weak' emotions. That's what his mother taught him since he was a little child. She'd always tell him to man up whenever he got hurt playing and started crying. His mother would call him a cry baby then she'll lock him in his room until he stops crying.He used to get bullied in elementary school because of the way he looked. It wasn't like he was really ugly. Peter had a crooked front tooth that stood out. Not to mention his large glasses that would always slip from his nose. His classmates hav...

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“The vessel” by Sangeetha G

Submitted to Contest #88

My mother looked at me from her chair when I entered the dinning court, I tried to disguise the disappointment in her eyes to approval. I looked exactly like her and I didn’t. I’d have the blackest hair like her, the greenest eyes like her, unlike her I am barren. My body is a vessel without an aura born to the two most powerful aura in the country. My mother and father didn’t need to care about me since I’m not the heir, I was a just a spare or an accident or unwanted or unknown. My elder brother told me onetime playfully that when I was bo...

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“Ely the Earthian and the Helpful Elf” by Emine Beasley

Submitted to Contest #88

Once apon a rock, in a very distant time from now, lived a civilisation not so different to our own. Their world orbited a star we shall refer to as the sun, and they had a moon that cast beauty into their skies day and night. The landscapes looked as if from depictions of The Garden of Eden, fresh greens and clear blues. In this heaven there were small settlements of people that had nestled within the natural lands, keeping cadence with the raw world. Some of the people were similar to humans, however most of them resembled what we in fable...

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“A Dish Best Served Cold” by Aria C

Submitted to Contest #88

“Can I open my eyes yet?” you asked. Gold sun spots pricked through the pair of tights forming your makeshift blindfold. Four pairs of bony elbows pushed you through the evening air. Today was muck-up day: a chance for the Burnt Oak High School students to run wild before they went off to uni. You’d dreaded the day all year. Usually, you didn’t mind having no friends. But everyone knew that on muck-up day, the odd ones out were chewed up and spit out by the popular people. That’s why, when four of the school’s most popular girls allow...

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“Colors” by Dani Duschl

Submitted to Contest #88

[TW: abuse] Many years ago, the government allowed my family to leave the country for a week or more. My parents had called it a vacation. To this day, I do not know what that word means. But it was a unique experience. For ten hours we sat cramped together on a plane. The breathtaking view from my window seat bored me, after just half an hour of marveling. Back then I was still a little, five-year-old girl. My feet rested on my family's luggage, I sat squeezed together on my chair. Soon my back and legs were hurting. Between me and the aisl...

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“Son of a Thief” by CJ K

Submitted to Contest #88

As most fairy tales start with once upon a time, this story starts with once upon a man. A man who’s past made his future questionable. Can a son of a known thief be capable of more than stealing? Many around the land believe not. He will always be the son of Felix Richardson, the man who stole the queen’s jewels while working as the castle knight that protected her. Now his son, Victor Richardson who had always dreamed of being a loyal knight will always be on the outside looking in unless he can prove himself a different man from his ...

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“Spotty” by Shabi Nick

Submitted to Contest #88

The pond was tempting Spotty again. His parents had warned Spotty and his brothers and sisters not to get too close to water. “You can slip into the water. Then your feathers will get wet and you will drown.” They would say. But spotty was different. He was different from the moment he hatched out of egg. His brothers and sisters had pointed beaks, didn’t have any web between their fingers, and were bright yellow head to toe. Spotty on the other hand, had a round beak, large webs between his fingers and dark brown spots on his body. Every ti...

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“Horns Beneath Scarves” by Sarah Archer

Submitted to Contest #88

I thread a scarf through my hair, pulling it over my ears and tying it into a bow on the top of my head. Once secure, I tuck the sides behind my ears and slide it back, making sure to cover my horns as well. Another school day means another morning blending in with the people of Amontarillo. In an ideal world, I wouldn't be leaving my home at all, but in a small village, it's hard to keep secrets. Word spreads like the plague even on a bad day, and a horn-bearing child would be difficult to explain. For me, the best I can do is hide in plai...

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“A Day To Be UNGodmother-Like” by Pamela Kalidasan

Submitted to Contest #88

I can remain unbothered to the cries and prayers people set upon my head. I feel their burdening pain of confronting an unapproachable cloud to the point where I keep swimming in a dark ocean that blocks all my hope of a beautiful world. Does it even exist? Will anyone care to restore things to be near perfect as I tried and failed again? It's my job, a job I loathe sometimes, yet I find beauty in it to help good people find strength in themselves. But now, I question the quality I deliver to them. Does any of my effort amount to significant...

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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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