Fairy Tale Riddles: 30 Storybook Riddles with Answers

I’m a shoe made of glass, and I was left behind on the palace steps when the clock struck midnight. The prince searched the whole kingdom for the foot that fit me. What am I?

I’m a big orange vegetable, but with a tap of a magic wand, I turned into a golden coach to carry a girl to the ball. What am I?

I traded the family cow for a handful of these, and my mother threw them out the window. By morning, they had grown up into the clouds. What are they?

The first little pig built his house of straw, and the second built his of sticks. The big bad wolf huffed and puffed and blew them down. What was the third house made of?

I tasted three bowls of porridge, sat in three chairs and tried three beds. I liked the little one best, because it was “just right.” Who am I?

Hansel dropped these along the path so he and his sister could find their way home through the forest. But the birds ate every one. What were they?

A princess dropped me into a deep well, and a frog offered to fetch me if she promised to be his friend. What am I?

I’m tiny and green, and I was hidden under twenty mattresses and twenty feather beds to test whether a girl was a real princess. She didn’t sleep a wink. What am I?

I wore a red hood on my way to Grandmother’s house with a basket of cake. I said, “Grandmother, what big eyes you have!” Who am I?

I’m a talking glass on the wall. The queen asks me every day who is the fairest in the land, and I always tell the truth, even when she doesn’t like it. What am I?

I’m a tiny, angry little man. I spun straw into gold for the miller’s daughter, and she could only get out of our bargain by guessing my very unusual name. Who am I?

I live in a tall tower with no door and no stairs. When someone calls my name, I let down my long, long hair so they can climb up. Who am I?

I’m a sharp little tool on a spinning wheel. A princess pricked her finger on me and fell asleep for a hundred years. What am I?

Everyone laughed at me and called me ugly, because I didn’t look like the other ducklings. When I grew up, I found out I was something else. What did I become?

Two tricky weavers sold the emperor clothes that they said only clever people could see. He marched through town in them, and everyone pretended to admire them. Who finally said he had nothing on?

A young mermaid lived under the sea, but she wanted to walk on land. She gave the sea witch something precious in exchange for legs. What did she give up?

I was the last soldier made from an old tin spoon, and there wasn’t quite enough tin for me, so I stand on just one leg. I stay brave and steady through every adventure. Who am I?

I’m a girl no bigger than your thumb, and I grew from a seed in a flower. A polished walnut shell is my cradle. Who am I?

I’m a clever cat. All I asked my poor master for was a bag and a pair of boots, and with them I won him a castle and a princess. Who am I?

A poor shoemaker left leather on his bench at night, and in the morning, perfect shoes were waiting. Who was secretly making them?

Every morning, the king found that his twelve daughters’ shoes were worn out, even though they’d been locked in their room all night. What had they been doing?

“Run, run, as fast as you can! You can’t catch me!” I shouted as I ran from the old woman, the old man and everyone else. But a clever fox tricked me at the river. Who am I?

I live under a bridge, and I wanted to gobble up three billy goats. The biggest goat knocked me into the river with his horns. What am I?

When the merchant set off on his trip, his youngest daughter asked him to bring home just one thing. When he picked it in the garden of a strange palace, its owner, the Beast, was furious. What was it?

When Jack stole this from the giant, it cried out, “Master! Master!” and woke him up. What was it?

I rule a palace of ice in the far north, and I carried a boy named Kay away in my sleigh. His best friend Gerda traveled through the whole cold world to rescue him. Who am I?

In the Brothers Grimm version of Cinderella, her slipper isn’t made of glass. What is it made of?

After escaping from the witch’s house, Hansel and Gretel reached a wide stretch of water with no bridge. What carried them across, one at a time?

Anyone who touched me got stuck to me, and so did anyone who touched them, until a whole silly parade followed my owner into town and made a sad princess laugh. What am I?

Hop-o’-My-Thumb stole these from a sleeping ogre. With one step, the wearer could cover seven leagues, which is more than twenty miles. What are they?