Task 2: Good and Bad Characters (ages 6-9)

fairyofbeauty Traditional fairytales are magical stories of adventure with lots of characters, including witches, queens, elves, princes, dragons, ogres and, of course, fairies. Fairytales often include lots magic and enchantment, a wicked character and a kind character, and in the end goodness is rewarded.

In Scottish Ballet’s The Sleeping Beauty, the Elfin Princes are guards of Aurora and spirits of nature. They are as delicate as the fairies but are wild woodland creatures too.

In Scottish folklore, fairies were believed to be very mischievous and troublesome wee folk. The naughtiest of fairies would bewitch people, steal cows and even kidnap wives and children! People used to leave out cream, butter and cakes to try to please the fairies and avoid their tricks and games. People believed that a fairy either belonged to the Seelie Court or the Unseelie Court: The Seelie Court was for naughty fairies that were sometimes kind but the Unseelie Court was for the very bad fairies that were never good. You can hear tales about fairies in poems, songs and stories from long ago.

Create your own character

We want you to think of your own fairytale character and create a character card for them. Have a look at The Sleeping Beauty cards to help you. Is he/she good or bad? Would your character be in the Seelie Court or the Unseelie Court? What do they do? What do they wear? What colour are they? Is there anything magical about your character? Where do they live? What would their role be in a fairytale?

Download and print the icon Character card template

Why not try...

If you have time, you can come up with a movement or short dance for your character. You can share and perform this with your family. These words may help you when thinking about your dance - play, jump, turn, pause and rhythm.