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.

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.

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.

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. She spends more than 10 years fighting alongside other male soldiers. Later, the emperor offers her a government post, but she turns it down saying that she would prefer to return home and see her family. At the end of the poem, Mulan finally reveals her female identity to her army comrades, who are shocked to see her as a woman.