Menu

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Directory
Contests
Magazine
FAQ

Write from the POV of a fairy tale character sharing their side of the story.

Posted in Short Story on Nov 15, 2024

Submissions are closed

Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or use an email address:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 110 stories

The Three Little Pigs Incident: A Building Inspector’s Report

Winner of Contest #277 🏆

The Three Little Pigs Incident: A Building Inspector’s ReportBy B.B. Wolf, Senior Building Inspector, Woodland District Code Enforcement DivisionLet me set the record straight. After twenty-seven years with the Woodland Building Department (WBD), I’ve seen every construction shortcut and code violation imaginable. But nothing—and I mean nothing—compares to the infamous Three Pigs incident of 2023. The media had a field day with it, of course. “Big Bad Wolf Terrorizes Innocent Homeowners!” Please. I enforced the International Building Code, 2...

179 likes 129 comments 129
Read story

The Pod and the Purpose

Submitted to Contest #277

There are moments when one must question the course of their life. Did one make a misstep, demonstrate poor judgment, or was one simply subjected to a sobering dose of bad luck? And if one truly has a purpose, was it met? For me, this period of introspection began eight hours ago when I heard the girl start to moan. True, the bedroom was dark and the two of us were alone, but I promise I never touched her, not once. I was completely trapped and paralyzed, and endured her moans the whole night. As no one came running to her aid, at least...

52 likes 63 comments 63
Read story

Piped to Freedom

Submitted to Contest #277

           I lay back in my relaxing chair as I watched the flames grow higher and higher. There have been so many occasions I have sat in the chair reading one of numerous books I owned until I grew weary. I put the book down, closed my eyes, and went off into dreamland. But today will not be the case, as I have a piece of parchment on my lap and a quill ready to write to the ones I love. How should I start my letter to the ones I regard as my children?      &nb...

48 likes 21 comments 21
Read story

Roar

Submitted to Contest #277

Rain lashes the windscreen as the old Ford jostles the curb into the driveway, and we arrive, wipers thumping, suspension groaning and intentions looming. I curl my fingers around the door handle and push myself against the seat, sucking in a deep breath.It’s been a big weekend.I have an unpleasant task ahead of me.Vic pulls up the handbrake, and the car comes to a rest, the headlights casting a cone of illumination to the front door, catching the rain in their light.“Night, Madeline Beare. It’s been a fun retreat,” he says, doffing an imagi...

47 likes 31 comments 31
Read story

Wicked Heart

Submitted to Contest #277

Wicked Heart This story is one we all know. It is a depiction of the Toy Soldier. Let’s not waste anymore of the 3000 words. It was a bloody battlefield at the North Pole. Blood in the form of silver and gold glitter littered the bodies of Jack, the tin soldier, and the gingerbread men and was seeping everywhere. As Jack lie there injured, he saw his fallen comrades. It was a scene that would live in infamy in his mind forever. As the medics lifted him to safety, he began to fade. We begin this story in the land of Jimmy Vanderpool. Jimmy wa...

46 likes 50 comments 50
Read story

The Mirror’s Lament

Submitted to Contest #277

They call me “Magic.” They call me “Wise.” They call me the voice of truth. But they never ask what I am or what I want. For centuries, I have been nothing more than a cursed pane of silver, bound to reflect what the world demands of me. I have no name, no face of my own — only the echoes of a hundred queens who stood before me, whispering their fears into the void. Each one sought the same answer. Am I beautiful? Am I worthy? Am I the fairest of them all? The answer is never mine to give. I am a mirror, not a judge. The truth I speak comes ...

43 likes 44 comments 44
Read story

The Moral of the Story

Shortlisted for Contest #277 ⭐️

The guard leading me into the room gives a hard yank on the chain. Pain lances through my neck, and I snarl, baring my impressive fangs for full effect. He shies away, naked fear on his face, before remembering which of us is supposed to be the prisoner.“Watch it, mutt, or you’ll be drinking out of the toilet through a wired jaw,” he says, his tough-guy tone betrayed by the quaver in his voice and the stink of fear in his scent.I snort in contempt. “Oh, please, CO. We both know who’s afraid of the Big Bad Wolf.”His expression hardens, mouth ...

32 likes 6 comments 6
Read story

What's in a Name?

Submitted to Contest #277

What’s in a Name?“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet…”Shakespeare; Romeo and JulietJudge Lester Larson’s Courtroom:Judge: “And you are here today to have your name legally changed?”Petitioner: “Yes, your Honor. That is correct.”Judge: “And what is your name now, sir?”Petitioner: “Bob Shits.”Judge: "Oh, my goodness, young man. How dreadful. I can certainly see why you want to change your name. You won’t need to give any testimony. Petition granted. And what would you want to change your name to?”Petitioner: “Joe Shits.”Judge: “Uh… ...

32 likes 12 comments 12
Read story

Confessions of a Wolf

Submitted to Contest #277

After Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother were heroically freed from the wolf’s belly by a passing hunter, the wolf’s story didn’t end in a happily-ever-after. Instead, it continued in a far less glamorous setting: The Psychiatric Institution. The wolf, still suffering from a persistent stomach ache (unsurprising, given his belly had been sliced open to extract two undigested humans), spends his days chained in his enclosure, gazing through the barred window. Lonely and despondent, he howls at the moon, his mournful cry echoing throug...

30 likes 16 comments 16
Read story

A Tale of the Rose

Shortlisted for Contest #277 ⭐️

There’s always a story before the once upon a time. Either people don’t care to hear, or they simply don’t know it exists, but what a foolish and diminutive mind they must possess to never think of what occurred before, to never ponder the flawless entanglement of events that leads to the moment where the princess becomes the heroine and the Queen is left to be the majesty of nothing. The tale I speak of is about a princess similar to the one you are acquainted with, but in actuality, they share no resemblance except for their indisputable b...

24 likes 6 comments 6
Read story

Jack Spriggins

Submitted to Contest #277

(This story makes reference to abuse)Once upon a time there lived a poor widow and her son Jack.Well, that’s the way this timeless story has always begun. I’m here to set the record straight. You see, I’m Jack. My story has been told and re-told, incorrectly, since the early 1700’s. And yes, in fairytale land, you can live to be hundreds, even thousands of years old. So forget what you think you know about me and the beanstalk. Start with a blank slate. And let the truth be told. It’s time. Finally.First off, she was...

24 likes 22 comments 22
Read story

The Heroine Who Got Thrown Under the Bus

Submitted to Contest #277

So you know the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, right? You’ve probably seen it more than once. Are you one of those who thinks that Dorothy is the heroine? Well, let me set you straight because I starred in that movie, and you’re wrong. Dead wrong. If this reminds you of the musical Wicked and reimagining a character you thought you knew, you’re on the right track. Let’s begin with my first scene when I bit Miss Gulch on the leg. That scene inspired me to take the part. Even Dorothy Gale called Miss Gulch an old witch, so it was my pleasur...

24 likes 22 comments 22
Read story

The Infinite Deck

Submitted to Contest #277

The throne room pulsed with the Deck’s heartbeat. Velvet curtains fluttered in an invisible wind, and the stained glass—roses, blades, a grinning cat—shifted and rearranged. Cards spun, whispering their secrets. Something's wrong.  I felt it: a tremor, a shift in the hum tethering Wonderland. The Deck’s pulse stuttered like a skipped beat. I rose from my throne, the movement as automatic as breathing, my crimson gown trailing behind me like spilled blood. “Silence,” I whispered to the cards. They froze midair, their edges shimmering fai...

23 likes 19 comments 19
Read story

The Rehabilitation of Professor Greymane

Shortlisted for Contest #277 ⭐️

The fluorescent lights in Dr. Lamb's office stripped away all shadows, leaving nowhere to hide. Her wool caught their sterile glare like fresh snow, while my grey fur appeared dull, institutional—the same color as the tweed jacket I'd worn for twenty years of faculty meetings. A copy of my latest academic paper, "Predator Narratives in Post-Integration Literature," lay untouched on her desk beside a more recent document: "Incident Report #2847: Unauthorized Pursuit of Content Creator."I shifted in the human-sized chair, my frame too lar...

23 likes 24 comments 24
Read story

Wicked O'Reilly

Submitted to Contest #277

First of all, let’s get it right, I like things said about me to be correct, let's start as I mean to go on. I’m not a dwarf or a gnome or as I’ve heard The Gingerbread Man, I mean seriously what planet are some people on. I am an elf. I will also accept leprechaun, people seem to use one or the other and they are the two labels I will accept.  How hard is that to grasp? Tough for some it seems. In addition, my name is Patrick, not Paddy or Grumpy, and most definitely not Happy. I have never worn green and never will...

22 likes 19 comments 19
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about an outsider or social outcast who will do anything to fit in.

Angst – 40 stories

Start or end your story with two friends who become enemies/rivals, or vice versa.

Dramatic – 22 stories

Center your story around a character who longs for something they’ve lost.

Dramatic – 86 stories

Write a story with the word “wicked” in the title.

Short Story – 64 stories

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

How to Write a Novel