Fairy Tales: Draw an Original Hero and Rewrite the Ending
Fairy tales make a great starting point for young writers because the shape is already familiar. In this activity your child picks a classic tale, draws an original hero to replace the main character, and rewrites the ending so it follows from who that hero is. Keeping the beginning and changing the end teaches cause and effect, character and choice in one short story.
By ArtifyTales Team, Nell AI Labs LLC · Published · 5 min read
Every child knows how Goldilocks ends. She runs away. But what if Goldilocks were a robot who had never tasted porridge? What if Little Red Riding Hood were a detective? What if the third little pig were a pig who hated building?
Fairy tales are one of the best places for a young writer to start, precisely because they are familiar. The beginning, the characters and the pattern are already there. Your child only has to change one thing, the hero, and then work out what happens differently because of it. That one change teaches character, cause and effect, and endings, all in a story short enough to finish in an afternoon.
Keep, change, rewrite
How to do it
- Pick a tale (5 minutes). Choose a short one your child knows well: The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood or The Gingerbread Man. Tell or read it together first.
- Draw the new hero (10 minutes). Your child invents a completely new main character and draws them. Ask: "What’s their name? What are they good at? What are they bad at?" The answers to those last two questions will write the ending.
- Find the turning point (5 minutes). Together, find the moment in the original tale where the hero makes a choice or faces the biggest danger. For Goldilocks, it’s when the bears come home. For the pigs, it’s when the wolf reaches the brick house.
- Rewrite the ending (15 minutes). Your child tells or writes what their new hero does at that moment, and what happens after. The rule: it must happen because of who the hero is.
- Read both endings aloud. Read the original ending, then the new one. Ask: "Which one do you like better? Why?"
Good heroes for each tale
Some combinations to get started. Your child’s own idea will be better.
| Tale | Original hero | Try instead | Why it changes things |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goldilocks | A curious girl | A robot who can’t taste | She can’t tell which porridge is "just right" |
| The Three Little Pigs | Three pigs | A beaver who builds dams | The wolf has never met a builder this good |
| Jack and the Beanstalk | A boy who climbs | A snail | It takes a year to climb; the giant gets curious |
| Little Red Riding Hood | A girl on an errand | A detective | She notices that Grandma’s ears are too big straight away |
| The Gingerbread Man | A runaway biscuit | A biscuit who can swim | The fox’s trick at the river doesn’t work |
A worked example
Here is an illustrative rewritten ending of the kind a third grader might create, not a real child’s work.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears, with Bolt the robot. Bolt tasted the first porridge. Data: temperature 90 degrees. Too hot. Bolt tasted the second. Data: 20 degrees. Too cold. Bolt could not eat porridge at all, so Bolt did the only sensible thing: mixed the two bowls together until the third was exactly 55 degrees, and left it on the table with a note. When the bears came home, they found their porridge warmer than it had ever been, and a small robot asleep in the smallest chair, charging. Baby Bear let it stay.
The new ending works because it follows from the hero. A robot who can measure temperature solves the porridge problem in a way Goldilocks never could, and the ending changes from running away to being welcomed.
Where ArtifyTales fits
Your child’s new hero is a natural fit for ArtifyTales. Photograph the drawing and it becomes a character with a name and personality. Type the rewritten tale, or write it on Story Papers, and it comes back as illustrated, narrated story pages in the art style you choose. There is also a fairy tales story theme to build from.
Read it together and check that the ending is still your child’s. Generated pages can add details or smooth over a twist, so ask "Is this what Bolt would do?" If not, that’s the next revision. For more on starting from a drawing, see how to turn a child’s drawing into a story while keeping their ideas at the center.
Drawings, voices and privacy
A child’s drawing, handwriting and voice are personal. Read how ArtifyTales handles children’s drawings and voices before uploading anything.
Frequently asked questions
- Why are fairy tales good for teaching children to write?
- Fairy tales have clear, repeated structures: a hero, a problem, often three tries, and a satisfying ending. Children already know the shape, so they can concentrate on changing one thing and seeing what follows. Rewriting a familiar story is less daunting than inventing one from nothing.
- Which fairy tales work best for rewriting?
- Short tales with a clear choice near the end work best: The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood and The Gingerbread Man. Each has a moment where a different hero would act differently.
- What does “the ending must follow from the hero” mean?
- The new ending should happen because of who the new hero is. If the new hero is a robot, the ending might depend on something only a robot can do, or something a robot finds hard. An ending that could happen with any hero hasn’t used the change.
- Is it okay to change the villain too?
- Yes, and it often produces the most interesting stories. A wolf who is actually lost, or a giant who is lonely, changes the whole meaning of the tale. Encourage children to change one thing first, then decide what else changes because of it.
- How is a fractured fairy tale different?
- A fractured fairy tale changes a familiar story, often for humour: a new point of view, a new setting or a twist ending. This activity is a kind of fractured fairy tale, with one rule: the change starts with the hero, and the ending has to follow from that change.
- What age is this activity for?
- It works well from about Grade 2 to Grade 5. Younger children can draw the new hero and tell the new ending aloud. Older children can write the whole tale and add a new middle as well as a new ending.
Change one hero this weekend
Pick a fairy tale your child knows by heart and ask, "What if the hero were someone completely different?" See how ArtifyTales can turn a child’s drawing into an animated story, or explore creative activities by child-development stage.
Teachers: rewriting a familiar tale is a strong narrative-writing lesson. The Kindergarten–Grade 8 Common Core ELA alignment shows where it fits.