Inspirational Fairytale Quotes About Change and Courage

These inspirational fairytale quotes are for grown-ups who could use a little “once upon a time” on a Monday. Andersen, Carroll, C.S. Lewis and a few modern storytellers all had something to say about change, courage and choosing well.

When you need a different mood, the fairytale quotes page lists every collection, including lines just for kids.

We fixed a couple of famous misquotes along the way, including the Harry Potter line almost everyone shortens. If your kids want in on the fun, our short fairy tale quotes are easy to memorize.

Fairytale quotes that are inspirational title on a swirling pastel background with sparkles

Table of Contents

Quick Picks: Inspirational Fairytale Quotes

One for every kind of week.

“It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.” (Alice, Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)
“Everything you look at can become a fairy tale and you can get a story from everything you touch.” (Hans Christian Andersen, “The Elder-Tree Mother”)
“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” (Dumbledore, J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)
“Great heroes need great sorrows and burdens, or half their greatness goes unnoticed. It is all part of the fairy tale.” (Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn)
“Your once upon a time can start on a Monday.”

The last one is an original 3BoysAndADog saying.

Inspirational Fairytale Quotes About Change

For new seasons, new jobs and new chapters.

The Ugly Duckling

“Being born in a duck yard does not matter, if only you are hatched from a swan’s egg.”
Hans Christian Andersen, The Ugly Duckling

“It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.” (Alice, Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)
“When we get to the end of the story, you will know more than you do now.” (Hans Christian Andersen, The Snow Queen)
“Caterpillars don’t apologize for taking their time.”
“Every chapter you survive is part of the story.”
“Change is just the plot moving forward.”

The last three are original 3BoysAndADog sayings.

When we get to the end of the story, you will know more than you do now quote over a path lined with pink flowering trees

Inspirational Fairytale Quotes About Courage

Brave does not always look like a knight on a horse.

“Great heroes need great sorrows and burdens, or half their greatness goes unnoticed. It is all part of the fairy tale.” (Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn)
“The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all.” (the Emperor, Mulan (1998))
“Brave doesn’t mean you aren’t scared.”
“Fight the dragon you have, not the one you are worried about.”
“Small and brave beats big and bored.”

From Narnia

“Peter did not feel very brave; indeed, he felt he was going to be sick. But that made no difference to what he had to do.”
C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

The last three are original 3BoysAndADog sayings.

Inspirational Fairytale Quotes About Choices and Joy

The small, daily kind of magic.

Dumbledore

“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

“The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one does.” (attributed to J.M. Barrie)
“Everything you look at can become a fairy tale and you can get a story from everything you touch.” (Hans Christian Andersen, “The Elder-Tree Mother”)
“Pick the kind thing, then pick it again.”
“Joy is a choice you can make before breakfast.”
“The magic was in you before the wand showed up.”

The happiness line is usually credited to Barrie, but we could not find it in Peter Pan, so it is labeled attributed. The last three are original 3BoysAndADog sayings.

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Ways to Use Inspirational Fairytale Quotes

Spots where a grown-up needs a pep talk.

Desk or planner: Write the Dumbledore line on the first page of a new planner.
New job card: The Alice yesterday line fits any fresh start.
Teen bedroom: The Narnia courage line is honest about being scared.
Book club: Pick three quotes and match each to its book.

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Inspiring Fairytale Picks