fairytales
Once upon a...
Fairytales are traditional stories featuring magical elements—enchanted forests, talking animals, witches, princes, and happy endings.
The term extends to any fanciful or implausible narrative: Don't give me fairytales, tell me what really happened.
A fairytale ending is improbably perfect.
Also spelled as two words: fairy tales.
Supernatural or illusory power
- spellboundHeld as if enchanted
- bewitchedUnder magical influence
- charmedPleased or bewitched
- enchantedUnder magical influence
sorcery · wizardry · enchantment · potion · curse · spell · transformation · wand
Account of events
- happily-ever-afterIdyllic permanent resolution
- beginningInitial stage of something
- middleCentral point or position
- endFinal portion or cessation
hero · heroine · villain · quest · journey · adventure · kingdom · castle
Unverified traditional tale
- traditionCustom passed through generations
- loreTraditional knowledge transmitted orally
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- cultureCollective social practices
oral-history · superstitions · Aesop · Anansi · Scheherazade · kitsune · selkie · changeling
Unit of teaching
- ethicsStudy of right conduct
- valuesPrinciples held worthwhile
- wisdomGood judgment from experience
- virtueMoral goodness or merit
cautionary · warning · punishment · reward · good · evil · honesty · kindness
Shown with images
- artworkVisual creative production
- woodcutRelief print from timber
- engravingCarving into hard surfaces
- frontispieceBook's introductory illustration
Of lasting excellence
- enduringPersisting through time
- agelessWithout apparent deterioration
- belovedOne who is treasured
- retellingNarrating something anew
adaptation · Disney · animated · childhood · nostalgia · generations · universal · archetypal
magic
Supernatural or illusory power
- spellboundHeld as if enchanted
- bewitchedUnder magical influence
- charmedPleased or bewitched
enchanted · sorcery · wizardry · enchantment · potion · curse · spell · transformation · wand · pixie
story
Account of events
- happily-ever-afterIdyllic permanent resolution
- beginningInitial stage of something
- middleCentral point or position
end · hero · heroine · villain · quest · journey · adventure · kingdom · castle · forest
legend
Unverified traditional tale
- traditionCustom passed through generations
- loreTraditional knowledge transmitted orally
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
culture · oral-history · superstitions · Aesop · Anansi · Scheherazade · kitsune · selkie · changeling · trickster
lesson
Unit of teaching
virtue · cautionary · warning · punishment · reward · good · evil · honesty · kindness · greed
illustrated
Shown with images
frontispiece · vignette · storybook · nursery · bedtime
classic
Of lasting excellence
retelling · adaptation · Disney · animated · childhood · nostalgia · generations · universal · archetypal · eternal
- childhood activitiesboard games, cartoons, playgrounds, puppets, bedtime stories
- kids' radiostorytelling, youth programs, bedtime stories, storytime, story time
- folklorefolktales, folk tales, folktale, legends, legend
- occultwitchcraft, sorcery, necromancy, black magic, tarot
fairytaleshistories
Accounts of past events
facts · nonfiction · reality · truth · journalism
fairytalesrealism
Accepting things as they are
realistic fiction · social realism · naturalism · slice of life · gritty drama
fairytalestragedies
Dramas with fatal endings
nightmares · horror stories · cautionary tales · grimdark · disillusionment
- fairytale endingIdeal romantic resolution