List of stories

The following is a list of stories that have inspired a large portion of the arcs and events featured on both Once Upon a Time and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. It comprises all of the fairytales, legends/myths, books/novels and tell-tales that have had elements borrowed into the world of the series, ordered alphabetically, and accompanied by a small summary describing the tales and their adaptation.

Aladdin
Aladdin (Arabic: علاء الدين‎, ʻAlāʼ ad-Dīn, IPA: [ʕalaːʔ adˈdiːn]) is a Middle Eastern folk tale. It is one of the tales in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights ("The Arabian Nights"), and one of the best known, although it was actually added to the collection in the 18th century by Frenchman Antoine Galland.

Aladdin is an impoverished young man who is recruited by a sorcerer, who convinces Aladdin and his mother of his goodwill by apparently making arrangements to set up the lad as a wealthy merchant. The sorcerer's real motive is to persuade young Aladdin to retrieve a wonderful oil lamp from a booby-trapped magic cave of wonder. After the sorcerer attempts to double-cross him, Aladdin finds himself trapped in the cave. Fortunately, Aladdin retains a magic ring lent to him by the sorcerer as protection. When he rubs his hands in despair, he inadvertently rubs the ring, and a jinn, or "genie", appears, who takes him home to his mother. Aladdin is still carrying the lamp, and when his mother tries to clean it, a second, far more powerful genie appears, who is bound to do the bidding of the person holding the lamp.

The story was adapted by Disney into the 1992 theatrical release, Aladdin.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; Through the Looking-Glass
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an 1865 novel written by English author Lewis Carroll. It tells of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar, anthropomorphic creatures. The tale plays with logic, giving the story lasting popularity with adults as well as with children. It is considered to be one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre. Its narrative course and structure, characters and imagery have been enormously influential in both popular culture and literature, especially in the fantasy genre. Through the Looking-Glass is the 1871 sequel. The themes and settings of Through the Looking-Glass make are a kind of mirror image of Wonderland.

The stories were adapted by Disney into the 1951 theatrical release, Alice in Wonderland.

Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (French: La Belle et la Bête) is a traditional fairy tale. The first published version was a rendition by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, published in 1740. The best-known written version was an abridgement of her work published in 1756 by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont. It tells the story of a beautiful woman who is taken captive by a royal that has been transformed into a beast, and only her true love for him can let the lightness shine into his darkened heart and break his curse.

The story was adapted by Disney into the 1991 theatrical release, Beauty and the Beast.

Beowulf
Beowulf is an eighth-century English epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, the oldest surviving epic poem of Old English and thus commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature, and also arguably the earliest vernacular English literature.

In the poem, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats in Scandinavia, comes to the aid of Hroðgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead hall (in Heorot) has been under attack by a monster known as Grendel. After Beowulf slays him, Grendel's mother attacks the hall and is then also defeated. Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland in Sweden and later becomes king of the Geats. After a period of fifty years has passed, Beowulf defeats a dragon, but is fatally wounded in the battle. After his death, his attendants bury him in a tumulus, a burial mound, in Geatland.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf
The Boy Who Cried Wolf is one of Aesop's Fables. From it is derived the English idiom "to cry wolf", meaning to give a false alarm.

The tale concerns a shepherd boy who repeatedly tricks nearby villagers into thinking a wolf is attacking his flock. When one actually does appear and the boy again calls for help, the villagers do not come, thinking that it is another false alarm and the sheep are eaten by the wolf.

The story was adapted by Disney into the 1946 theatrical release, Make Mine Music.

Cinderella
Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper (French: Cendrillon, ou La petite Pantoufle de Verre; Italian: Cenerentola; German: Aschenputtel), is a European folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression in Histoires ou contes du temps passé published by Charles Perrault in 1697, and by the Brothers Grimm in their folk tale collection, Grimms' Fairy Tales.

Although both the story's title and the character's name change in different languages, in English-language folklore "Cinderella" is the archetypal name. The word "Cinderella" has, by analogy, come to mean one whose attributes were unrecognized, or one who unexpectedly achieves recognition or success after a period of obscurity and neglect. The still-popular story of "Cinderella" continues to influence popular culture internationally, lending plot elements, allusions, and tropes to a wide variety of media.

The story was adapted by Disney into the 1950 theatrical release, Cinderella.

Don Quixote
Don Quixote, fully titled The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha (Spanish: El Ingenioso Don Quijote de la Mancha), is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. It follows the adventures of a nameless hidalgo (at the end of Part II given the name Alonso Quixano) who reads so many chivalric novels that he loses his anity and decides to set out to revive chivalry, undo wrongs, and bring justice to the world, under the name Don Quixote. He recruits a simple farmer, Sancho Panza, as his squire, who often employs a unique, earthy wit in dealing with Don Quixote's rhetorical orations on antiquated knighthood. Don Quixote, in the the first part of the book, does not see the world for what it is, and prefers to imagine that he is living out a knightly story. The Story implements various themes, such as intertexuality, realism, metatheatre, and literary representation.

Fantasia
Fantasia is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released by Walt Disney Productions. The film consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski, seven of which are performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra. One of the segments, arguably the most popular one, is "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", starring Mickey Mouse.

Frankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel written by British author Mary Shelley about eccentric scientist Victor Frankenstein, who creates a grotesque creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty. The first edition was published anonymously in London in 1818. Shelley's name appears on the second edition, published in France in 1823.

The story was adapted by Disney into the 2012 theatrical release, Frankenweenie.

Frozen
Frozen is a 2013 American 3D computer-animated musical fantasy-comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Snow Queen, the film tells the story of a fearless princess who sets off on an epic journey alongside a rugged iceman, his loyal pet reindeer and a clueless snowman to find her estranged sister, whose icy powers have inadvertently trapped the kingdom in eternal winter.

Greek Mythology
Perseus and Medusa is a popularly remembered tale in Greek mythology. Medusa, a gorgon, has the ability to turn any man that looks into her eyes to stone. She is finally defeated by Perseus who uses the reflection of his shield to make the creature gaze upon herself and turn to stone.

Poseidon is one of the twelve Olympian deities of the pantheon in Greek mythology. His main domain is the ocean, and he is called the "God of the Sea". Additionally, he is referred to as "Earth-Shaker" due to his role in causing earthquakes, and has been called the "tamer of horses". He is usually depicted as an older male with curly hair and beard.

The Works and Days is a didactic poem of some 800 lines written by the ancient Greek poet Hesiod around 700 BCE. At its center, the Works and Days is a farmer's almanac in which Hesiod instructs his brother Perses in the agricultural arts. Scholars have seen this work against a background of agrarian crisis in mainland Greece, which inspired a wave of colonial expeditions in search of new land. In the poem Hesiod also offers his brother extensive moralizing advice on how he should live his life. The Works and Days is perhaps best known for its two mythological aetiologies for the toil and pain that define the human condition: the story of Prometheus and Pandora, and the so-called Myth of Five Ages.

Hansel and Gretel
Hansel and Gretel (/ˈhænsəl/ or /ˈhɑːnsəl/ and /ˈɡrɛtəl/; German: Hänsel und Gretel) is a well-known fairy tale of German origin, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. Hansel and Gretel are a young brother and sister threatened by a cannibalistic witch living deep in the forest in a house constructed of cake and confectionery. The two children save their lives by outwitting her. The tale has been adapted to various media.

The Hundred and One Dalmatians
The Hundred and One Dalmatians, or The Great Dog Robbery, is a 1956 children's novel by Dodie Smith about the robbery of the titular family of 101 Dalmatian dogs.

At a dinner party attended by the Dearly couple, Cruella de Vil expresses her dislike for animals; subsequently, the couple's new Dalmatian puppies disappear. The Dearly dogs are now among 97 puppies who were kidnapped or legally purchased from various owners, with the intention of skinning them for their fur. Through the co-operation of animals and the "Twilight barking", the dogs are found in Suffolk, England, and a rescue ensues.

The story was adapted by Disney into the 1961 theatrical release, One Hundred and One Dalmatians.

Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack and the Beanstalk is an English fairytale. The earliest known appearance in print is Benjamin Tabart's moralized 1807 version. Henry Cole popularized it in The Home Treasury (1842), and Joseph Jacobs rewrote it in English Fairy Tales (1890). Jacobs' version is most commonly reprinted today and it is believed to be closer to the oral versions than Tabart's because it lacks the moralising.

Jack is a young boy living with his widowed mother and a milk cow who is their only source of income. When the cow stops giving milk, Jack's mother has him take her to the market to be sold. On the way, he meets an old man who offers "magic beans" in exchange for the cow and Jack makes the trade. When he arrives home without any money, his mother becomes furious, throws the beans to the ground and sends Jack to bed. A gigantic beanstalk grows overnight which Jack climbs to a land high in the sky. There he comes to a house (or, in some versions, a castle) that is the home of a giant. Jack steals from the giant and makes his escape down the beanstalk. However, the giant is woken when Jack leaves the house, and chases him down the beanstalk. Jack calls to his mother for an axe. Before the giant reaches the ground, Jack cuts down the beanstalk, causing the giant to fall to his death. Jack and his mother then live happily ever after with their riches that Jack stole from the giant.

The story was adapted by Disney into the 1947 theatrical release, Fun and Fancy Free.

King Midas
King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ability to turn everything he touched with his hand into gold. This came to be called the "Golden touch", or the "Midas touch".

Knights of the Round Table
The Round Table is King Arthur's famed table in the Arthurian legend, around which he and his Knights congregate. As its name suggests, it has no head, implying that everyone who sits there has equal status. The symbolism of the Round Table developed over time; by the close of the 12th century it had come to represent the chivalric order associated with Arthur's court, the Knights of the Round Table.

Lady and the Tramp
Lady and the Tramp is a 1955 American animated romantic musical comedy film produced by Walt Disney and released to theaters by Buena Vista Distribution. The 15th film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, it was the first animated feature filmed in the CinemaScope widescreen film process. Based on Happy Dan, The Whistling Dog by Ward Greene, the movie tells the story of a female American Cocker Spaniel named Lady who lives with a refined, upper-middle-class family, and a male stray mutt named Tramp. When the two dogs meet, they embark on many romantic adventures.

Leviathan
Leviathan is a sea monster referenced in the Tanakh, or the Old Testament. The word has become synonymous with any large sea monster or creature. In literature (e.g., Herman Melville's Moby-Dick) it refers to great whales, and in Modern Hebrew, it simply means "whale". It is described extensively in Job 41 and mentioned in Psalm 104:26 and Isaiah 27:1.

Little Bo Peep
Little Bo Peep, or Little Bo Peep Has Lost Her Sheep, is a popular English language nursery rhyme. The earliest record of this rhyme is in a manuscript of around 1805, which contains only the first verse. There are references to a children's game called "Bo-Peep", from the 16th century. The rhyme usually goes as follows:

"Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep, And doesn't know where to find them; Leave them alone, and they'll come home, Wagging their tails behind them."

The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid is a well-known fairy tale by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince.

The story was adapted by Disney into the 1989 theatrical release, The Little Mermaid.

Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood, or Little Red Cap, is an European fairy tale about a young girl and an evil wolf. The story has been changed considerably in its history and subject to numerous modern adaptations and readings. The story was first published by Charles Perrault.

The titular girl walks through the woods to deliver food to her sickly grandmother. A mean wolf wants to eat the girl and the food in the basket. He approaches her and she naïvely tells him where she is going. He suggests the girl pick some flowers, which she does. In the meantime, he goes to the grandmother's house and gains entry by pretending to be the girl. He swallows the grandmother whole and waits for the girl, disguised as the grandma. When the girl arrives, she notices that her grandmother looks very strange, and comments on that, and the wolf jumps out of bed and swallows her up too. She is usually rescued by a lumberjack who cuts into the wolf's stomach and gets her and the grandmother out.

Mulan
Mulan, also known as The Ballad of Mulan and Mùlán Tzú, is an ancient Chinese poem written by an unknown author that was incorporated in the book Musical Records of Old and New in the 6th century. During a time of war in China, a young woman named Hua Mulan sees that her father has been conscripted into the army. Having no older brothers, she decides to dress as a man and goes to war in his place.

The story was adapted by Disney into the 1998 theatrical release, Mulan.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a novel written by Ken Kesey. Set in an Oregon psychiatric hospital, the narrative serves a study of the institutional processes and the human mind as well as a critique of behaviorism and a celebration of humanistic principles. Published in 1962, the novel was adapted into a Broadway play by Dale Wasserman in 1963. Bo Goldman adapted the novel for the 1975 film directed by Miloš Forman, which won five Academy Awards.

Peter Pan
Peter Pan, also known as Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up and Peter and Wendy, is a play that was written by Scottish author J. M. Barrie as a 1904 play and 1911 novel. The story is that of a young boy named Peter Pan from a magical land named Neverland, where you never grow old. The story follows the adventures of Peter after he befriends a young girl named Wendy Darling from London, England and her two brothers. In neverland they interact with lost boys, fairies, mermaids and Peter's biggest enemy, Captain Hook, a dangerous pirate.

The story was adapted by Disney into the 1953 theatrical release, Peter Pan.

The Pied Piper
The Pied Piper of Hamelin, also known as Rattenfänger von Hameln a German legend that tells the tale of a town named Hamelin when it becomes infested with rats. A man dressed in pied clothing offers to attract the rats away with his musical pipe. However, despite his success, he was refused payment and thus swore to return to the town for revenge. The pied piper does just this and returns, playing his pipe, attracting all the children of Hamelin. They're taken to a nearby cave, never to be seen again.

Pinocchio
The Adventures of Pinocchio is a novel for children by Italian author Carlo Collodi, written in Florence. The first half was originally a serial in 1881 and 1882, and then later completed as a book for children in February 1883. It is about the mischievous adventures of an animated marionette named Pinocchio and his father, a poor woodcarver named Geppetto. It is considered a canonical piece of children's literature and has inspired hundreds of new editions, stage plays, merchandising and movies.

The story was adapted by Disney into the 1940 theatrical release, Pinocchio.

The Prince and the Pauper
The Prince and the Pauper is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. Set in 1547, it tells the story of two young boys who are identical in appearance: Tom Canty, a pauper who lives with his abusive father in Offal Court off Pudding Lane in London, and Prince Edward, so of King Henry VIII.

The story was adapted by Disney into the 1990 animated short film, The Prince and the Pauper.

Rapunzel
Rapunzel is a German fairy tale in the collection assembled by the Brothers Grimm, and first published in 1812 as part of Children's and Household Tales. The Grimm Brothers' story is an adaptation of the fairy tale Rapunzel by Friedrich Schulz published in 1790. The Schulz version is based on Persinette  by  Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force  originally published in 1698. Its plot has been used and parodied in various media and its best known line ("Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair") is an idiom of popular culture. In volume I of the 1812 annotations (Anhang), it is listed as coming from Friedrich Schulz Kleine Romane, Book 5, pp. 269–288, published in Leipzig 1790.

The story was adapted by Disney into the 2010 theatrical release, Tangled.

Robin Hood
Robin Hood (spelled Robyn Hode in older sources) is a heroic outlaw found in English folklore who, according to legend, was also a highly skilled archer and swordsman. Traditionally depicted as being dressed inLincoln green, he is often portrayed as "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor" alongside his band of "Merry Men". Robin Hood became a popular folk figure in the late-medieval period, and continues to be widely represented in modern literature, films and television.

The story was adapted by Disney into the 1973 theatrical release, Robin Hood.

Rumplestiltskin
Rumpelstiltskin or Rumplestiltskin is the antagonist of a fairy tale that originated in Germany (where he is known as Rumpelstilzchen). The tale was collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of Children's and Household Tales. It was subsequently revised in later editions. Rumpelstiltskin inspired J. K. Rowling's Blast-Ended Skrewts in her Harry Potter series.

The story tells of a miller who, wanting to sound more important, lies to the King, claiming that his daughter has the ability to spin straw into gold. The King Locks the miller's daughter, threatening her life if she doesn't do as her father claims she can. Having lost almost all hope, an imp named Rumpelstiltskin shows up and solves her problem, all in exchange for her first born child.

Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault or Little Briar Rose by the Brothers Grimm is a classic fairy tale involving a beautiful princess, a sleeping enchantment, and a handsome prince. The version collected by the Grimms was an orally transmitted version of the originally literary tale published by Charles Perrault in Histoires ou contes du temps passé in 1697. This in turn was based on Sun, Moon, and Talia by Giambattista Basile (published posthumously in 1634), which was in turn based on one or more folk tales. The earliest known version of the story is Perceforest, composed between 1330 and 1344 and first printed in 1528.

The story was adapted by Disney into the 1959 theatrical release, Sleeping Beauty.