Fairytale Quotes for Kids
These fairytale quotes for kids come straight from the stories: a tailor bragging about flies, a little mermaid trading her voice, a child who finally says what everyone is thinking. Each one opens up an easy conversation about courage, honesty or kindness.
Grown-ups looking for their own lines can browse every fairytale quote list on the site, sorted for love, life and parties.
Most of these lines are from the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen, so you can read the whole story together afterward. For older kids who want something deeper, try our fairytale quotes about life.
Quick Picks: Fairytale Quotes for Kids
Five lines kids love to say out loud.
- “Seven at one blow!” (the tailor, Brothers Grimm, “The Brave Little Tailor”)
- “But he hasn’t got anything on.” (a little child, Hans Christian Andersen, “The Emperor’s New Clothes”)
- “Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin!” (the pig, “The Three Little Pigs,” Joseph Jacobs, English Fairy Tales)
- “Run, run, as fast as you can! You can’t catch me, I’m the Gingerbread Man!” (traditional folk tale)
- “Be brave like a tailor and kind like an elf.”
The last one is an original 3BoysAndADog saying.
Fairytale Quotes About Courage
Being brave sometimes means being small and loud.
The Brave Little Tailor
“Seven at one blow!”
the tailor, Brothers Grimm
- “The world belongs to the brave.” (popular saying)
- “Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin!” (the pig, “The Three Little Pigs,” Joseph Jacobs, English Fairy Tales)
- “Little and brave is still brave.”
- “You can be scared and try anyway.”
The last two are original 3BoysAndADog sayings.
Fairytale Quotes About Finding Your Voice
Andersen’s little mermaid gave up a lot. Kids can talk about what they would never trade.
- “But a mermaid has no tears, and therefore she suffers so much more.” (Hans Christian Andersen, “The Little Mermaid”)
- “Your voice is worth keeping.”
- “Use your words to help someone else.”
The Little Mermaid
“But if you take away my voice, what is left for me?”
Hans Christian Andersen
The last two are original 3BoysAndADog sayings.
Fairytale Quotes About Being Yourself
For kids who feel a little different right now.
- “I never dreamed of such happiness as this, while I was an ugly duckling.” (Hans Christian Andersen, “The Ugly Duckling”)
- “There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.” (attributed to R. Buckminster Fuller)
- “Every swan started out a little fuzzy.”
The Fuller line is widely credited to him but we could not confirm the original source, so it is labeled attributed. The last one is an original 3BoysAndADog saying.
Fairytale Quotes About Honesty
The Emperor’s New Clothes is a great story for kids who notice when grown-ups are pretending.
The Emperor’s New Clothes
“But he hasn’t got anything on.”
a little child, Hans Christian Andersen
- “Now the Emperor’s new clothes are ready for him.” (Hans Christian Andersen, “The Emperor’s New Clothes” (wording varies by translation))
- “Tell the truth, even about the emperor.”
The last one is an original 3BoysAndADog saying.
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Fairytale Quotes About Kindness and Gratitude
Two tiny elves, a lot of shoes and a thank-you gift.
- “He was astounded, and knew not what to say to it.” (Brothers Grimm, “The Elves and the Shoemaker”)
- “The little men have made us rich, and we really must show that we are grateful for it.” (the shoemaker’s wife, Brothers Grimm, “The Elves and the Shoemaker”)
- “Thank-you notes are a kind of magic.”
The last one is an original 3BoysAndADog saying.
Famous Fairytale Lines Kids Love to Repeat
The lines every kid knows by the second read-through.
- “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who in this land is fairest of all?” (the queen, Brothers Grimm, “Snow White” (wording varies by translation))
- “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.” (the witch, Brothers Grimm, “Rapunzel”)
- “Somebody has been sitting in my chair!” (the bears, Robert Southey, “The Story of the Three Bears”)
- “What big eyes you have!” (Little Red Riding Hood, Brothers Grimm, “Little Red Cap”)
Ways to Use Fairytale Quotes for Kids
Quick ideas that do not need a craft cabinet.
- Read-aloud warm-up: Read the quote first, then guess what happens in the story.
- Dinner question: Ask what the little child in The Emperor’s New Clothes was brave enough to do.
- Handwriting practice: Copy one short line in their best letters.
- Puppet show: Act out the line with stuffed animals.
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Fairytale Picks for Kids
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Questions parents ask about these story lines.
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