Well, 'Cinderella' is extremely popular worldwide. It has been told in many different cultures with various twists. 'Snow White' is also very well - known. Its story of the beautiful princess, the evil queen, and the seven dwarfs has captured the hearts of people everywhere. And 'The Little Mermaid' is also quite popular, with its tale of a mermaid who falls in love with a human prince.
Some common themes in once - upon - a - time fairytale stories are the journey. The characters often go on a physical or emotional journey. In 'Alice in Wonderland', Alice goes on a wild journey through a strange world. Another theme is the reward for kindness. Characters who are kind are usually rewarded in the end. For instance, in many tales, the poor but kind - hearted protagonist gets a happy ending, like a big castle or a happy marriage.
First, think of a classic fairytale setting like 'Once upon a time in a faraway land...'. Then, create some blanks related to the main characters, for example, 'There was a [brave knight] who lived in a [magnificent castle].' You can also leave blanks for the plot events, like 'One day, the knight decided to [go on a quest].' This way, the reader can use their imagination to fill in the blanks and create their own unique fairytale.
For characters, you can use 'wise old wizard', 'beautiful princess', 'wicked witch'. For places, 'enchanted forest', 'mysterious castle', 'distant mountain'. And for actions, 'search for a magic potion', 'rescue a captured prince', 'unlock a secret door'.
One popular 'Once a upon a time story' is 'Cinderella'. It's about a kind - hearted girl who is mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters but eventually finds true love with the help of her fairy godmother. Another is 'Snow White', a beautiful princess who has to flee from her evil stepmother and finds refuge with the seven dwarfs. And 'Sleeping Beauty' is also well - known, where a princess is put into a deep sleep by a curse and is awakened by a prince's kiss.
Once upon a time, a family bought a new house. In the basement, there was a locked door. One night, the youngest son heard strange sounds coming from behind that door. He found the key and opened it. Inside, there was a dark room filled with old portraits. As he looked at them, the eyes in the portraits seemed to follow him. He quickly closed the door but could still hear the voices from the room.
A 'found family' trope is quite common. Characters who were alone or estranged in the show form a close - knit family in fanfiction. For instance, Henry might bring together different characters who then become his new family. Also, the 'hurt/comfort' trope, where a character is hurt (physically or emotionally) and another character comforts them, is frequently used in Once upon a Time fanfics.
A prevalent trope is the 'reincarnation' trope. Fans might write about how the characters are reincarnated in different time periods or worlds and how their relationships are rekindled. 'Power - swapping' is another interesting one, where characters exchange their powers and how that affects their relationships and the story. There are also 'secret relationship' tropes, especially for characters who had a lot of chemistry on the show but never got together officially, like Belle and Will Scarlet. Writers create scenarios where they have a secret relationship and all the drama that comes with it.
Family relationships are a big theme. Some fanfics focus on the family dynamics between characters like the Charmings and their descendants. There are also fanfictions that revolve around the theme of identity. Characters in 'Once upon a time' often have complex identities, and fan writers like to dig deeper into how these identities are formed and how they can change over time.
One classic 'Once upon a time' English story is 'Cinderella'. It tells the story of a kind - hearted girl who is mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters but with the help of her fairy godmother, she gets to go to the ball and eventually marries the prince. Another is 'Snow White'. The beautiful Snow White has to flee from her jealous stepmother, the queen, and finds refuge with the seven dwarfs. Then there's 'Little Red Riding Hood', a story about a girl on her way to visit her grandmother and encountering the big bad wolf.