To make up a princess story, answer five questions: who the heroine is, what she wants, what stands in her way, who helps her and how it all ends. For example, a princess's crown goes missing and tiny footprints lead to the garden. Below are five unfinished stories your child can continue in words, drawings or with toys.
1. The Dragon Who Was Afraid of Heights
Behind the castle lives a little dragon. He can bake apples with his warm breath, but he's too scared to fly any higher than the bushes. And tomorrow is his grandma's birthday, way up on top of the tallest mountain!
How will the princess help her friend? She could build a lift that floats up through the air, find a secret path through a cave or invite Grandma down for a party instead. Choose a plan and tell what trouble the friends run into along the way.
Try this: make up two endings. In one, the dragon flies all the way to the top by himself. In the other, he finds a completely different way to wish Grandma a happy birthday.
2. Where Did the Crown Go?
One morning, there's a daisy on the pillow where the crown should be. Tiny footprints run across the floor, and a soft jingle-jingle drifts in from the garden. It looks like somebody wanted to try on the royal outfit.
Who could it be: a curious kitten, a fairy or a garden gnome? Let the princess find three clues. Each one should tell her something about the visitor, like a favorite treat, the size of a footprint or the color of a ribbon.
Try this: play it with two people. One makes up the mystery and the clues, and the other is the detective. Then switch.
3. The Ball Where Everyone Came
The princess sent an invitation to every single creature in the kingdom. Now every guest is a puzzle. The giant won't fit at the little tables, nobody knows what mermaids like to eat, and the unicorn can't dance without bumping the chandelier.
Figure out how to throw a party where everyone feels at home. Maybe the garden with the pond would work better than the palace ballroom. And the giant would be glad to help hang the paper lanterns.
Try this: draw a map of the party. Mark a spot for every guest and think of one game that everybody can play together.
4. The Day the Colors Disappeared
One morning the princess woke up and the whole world had turned black and white. Even the strawberry jam! Only one little butterfly still had bright wings. She knows where the colors are hiding, but she only talks in riddles.
Every color the princess finds brings something back to the kingdom. Green brings back the leaves, blue brings back the river, and yellow brings back the sparkles of sunshine. What will pink bring back?
Try this: start with a drawing in plain pencil and color it in, bit by bit, as the story goes along.
5. The Unicorn Delivers the Mail
A magic unicorn decided to become the kingdom's mail carrier. Everything went fine until he found an envelope addressed "To whoever is sad today." No name, no street, not even a castle number.
Where will he go first, and what's inside the letter? Make up three people who live in the kingdom and one small, kind thing the unicorn can do for each of them.
Try this: write or draw a letter of your own for someone you love. You can invent a magic stamp and fold an envelope out of paper.
How to make up a story: heroine, wish, obstacle and ending
- Pick a heroine. She can be a princess you already know or a character you invent.
- Give her a wish. Find the crown, throw a party, help a friend.
- Add an obstacle. The bridge has vanished, the invitations got mixed up, the clue is written as a riddle.
- Find a way out. What will the heroine try on her own, and who will help her?
- Finish the story. Tell what changed after the adventure.
One obstacle is enough for a short story. To make it longer, add one more try: the first plan doesn't work, so the heroine has to think of another. A grown-up can write the story down, keeping the child's own words. Parents will find the full method, 20 printable story cards and tips by age in how to make up a princess bedtime story.
Our book of Disney and Russian fairy-tale princesses can help you choose a heroine. To act a story out on a tablet, use the open rooms in My Little Princess: Castle or the fairy forest as the set for your own plot.
