How to Write the Title of a Fairytale in a Paper

Whether you are writing an analysis of folklore, a study of an updated version of a classic tale or simply referencing the events of a well-known story, you may need to write the title of a fairy tale in your paper. Citing a fairy tale follows rules similar to those for other short stories.

Write the fairy tale's title in title case for in-text citing. All of the words should be capitalized except articles ("a," "an," "the"), short prepositions ("in," "on," of") and coordinating conjunctions ("but," "and," "or," "nor"). Capitalize the first letter of the title even if it is one of these words.

Put quotation marks around the title. Do not italicize or underline it.

Provide some context for the fairy tale, such as its author or country of origin. While a famous story such as "Cinderella" or "Jack and the Beanstalk" needs no further explanation, note that "The Mouse, the Bird and the Sausage" is a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm because your readers may not be familiar with the story.

Cite a fairy tale from an anthology in your bibliography by writing the author's name followed by the title of the fairy tale in quotation marks. Write the title of the anthology in italics, followed by the editor's name. Write the place of publication, the publisher, the year, the page numbers from which you drew the information and the medium of the information. For example, Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. "Rapunzel." Famous Fairy Tales. Ed. Alan Gibson. New York, NY: Random House, 1986. 93-95. Print.

Cite a fairy tale which stands alone as a book in your bibliography by writing the author, if known, followed by the book's title. Write the place of publication, the publisher, the year and the medium of publication. Perrault, Charles. "Cinderella." New York, NY: Penguin, 2009.