Fairy tales not only stimulate kids’ imaginations, but they also teach them moral values and how to deal with tough situations. Not to mention, they’re a great tool for children to practice their second language skills! In this article, we summarize six classic fairy tales your child can enjoy in English and make some suggestions on what you can discuss with them afterwards.
Rapunzel
The fair young girl Rapunzel spends her days locked in a room alone at the top of a tower, entrapped by a cruel witch. She has long, blond hair of exquisite beauty. When the witch comes to visit her, she tells Rapunzel to let down her hair from her window. Then, she uses the hair to climb up to Rapunzel’s room from the edge of the tower. One day, Rapunzel meets a handsome prince outside her window. She lets her hair down the side of the tower so he can go up to her room. When the cruel witch learns what happened, she cuts Rapunzel’s pretty, silky hair. Rapunzel feels like she’s all alone with no one to turn to. But the handsome prince is determined to rescue her from the tower and put an end to her loneliness.
What You Can Discuss:
The witch wanted to keep Rapunzel locked away from the world. Do you think trying to keep someone you love all to yourself is a good or a bad thing to do?
What long hair Rapunzel must have had for the witch to be able to climb all the way up to her room with it! What would you do if you had hair as long as Rapunzel’s?
The Ugly Duckling
Poor Ugly Duckling always gets teased by other animals because he doesn’t look like other ducks. And even though his mother loves him just the way he is, he decides to run away. But wherever he goes, the animals he encounters are mean to him and call him ugly. Ugly Duckling wanders far and wide. One day, he looks down at his reflection in a lake and sees that he was never a duckling at all. As time has passed, he’s grown into a beautiful swan!
What You Can Discuss:
Ugly Duckling’s mother never considered him ugly. She always praised him for being a good swimmer. What do you think that says about what we consider to be beautiful, and what we consider to be ugly?
Have you ever not wanted to play with someone your age because of how they looked?
Because Ugly Duckling was sad for a while, when things turned around for him, he was able to appreciate life more. Can you think of a day when you were sad? Do you think you learned anything from being sad the way the Ugly Duckling did?
The Little Mermaid
The little mermaid Ariel lives under the ocean in her father’s kingdom. She and her sisters grow up listening to their grandmother tell them stories about life on land. When the girls turn fifteen, they’re allowed to swim to the ocean’s surface to see land for the first time. But they must return back home. When Ariel swims to the ocean’s surface, she sees a handsome prince on shore and falls in love with him. She decides she wants to live on land to be with him. But to do so, she must give up her beautiful voice.
What You Can Discuss:
If you were a mermaid who was seeing land for the first time, what do you think you would first notice about it?
Do you think giving something of yourself up for love is the right thing to do? Why do you think so?
The Princess and the Pea
A prince from a distant land wants to marry a true princess. But although he searches every kingdom far and wide, he just can’t seem to find the perfect match. One stormy night, a young girl knocks on the door of their castle. Drenched in rain, the young girl claims to be a princess and asks to take shelter at the castle. The prince’s mother agrees to take her in but decides to put her to the test. She places a single pea under the mattress of the bed she’ll be sleeping in at night. The young girl feels the pea and can’t fall asleep. She places mattress on top of mattress to find comfort, but nothing works. When the prince finds out, he decides that a girl as sensitive as her must be a true princess and decides to marry her.
What You Can Discuss:
Could a regular person have felt the pea under the mattresses? How come the princess was so sensitive to it?
Do you think the pea was fresh or frozen?
Is it right for us to judge people based on their appearances?
Hansel and Gretel
Hansel and Gretel are abandoned by their stepmother in the middle of the woods. They see a trail of crumbs on the ground and follow it to see where it leads. What should they find at the end of the trail? A house made of candy. The witch that lives in the house wants to fatten Hansel and Gretel up so she can eat them later. Thankfully, Hansel and Gretel work together and find their way to safety.
What You Can Discuss:
Hansel and Gretel started eating the house made of candy without giving it a second thought. Do you think that was the right choice?
The brother and sister managed to save themselves by working as a team. If one of them were alone in that situation, do you think they would have been able to save themselves?
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
The evil queen tries to get Snow White killed because she’s jealous of how young and beautiful she is. Snow White flees the palace and goes into the woods. There, she encounters seven dwarfs and starts living with them. When the evil queen asks her magic mirror about Snow White, she finds out that she’s still alive. She puts a curse on her that makes her fall into a deep sleep. Only true love’s kiss can break the curse and bring Snow White back to life.
What You Can Discuss:
The evil witch wanted Snow White to die because she was jealous of her. What do you think this story teaches us about jealousy?
The dwarfs loved Snow White dearly. Why do you think they loved her so much? How did Snow White treat them?
There is one more thing you can do to help your child learn and improve their English: Subscribe to Cambly Kids! Cambly Kids is a platform that offers children fun online lessons with tutors who are native speakers of English. Instead of memorizing information from books, they learn through our custom system of See, Hear, Speak, Connect and Analyze. They apply their knowledge to everyday situations to acquire a deeper understanding of the language. For more information, check out our website.
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