Twenty-seven emoji stories to copy and paste: fifteen fables and fairy tales, eight everyday stories and four longer pieces. Each is told in emoji alone, one scene to a line, with the story in one sentence underneath.
Read the full guide
Three kinds of story
Fables and fairy tales holds fifteen old tales, from Tortoise and the hare to Little Red Riding Hood. Everyday stories has eight, such as A school morning and The lost dog found. For emoji paragraphs, open Longer pieces: four of eight to twelve lines.
Play it as a guessing game
Paste a story into a chat and ask which tale it is. For a class, put one on the board and have everyone write it out in words. The note under each story gives the answer and names every emoji, line by line.
A good first one is Tortoise and the hare: five lines and only nine different emoji.
No wolf gets its dinner here. The frightening parts of the old books are left out on purpose.
One line is one scene. Read each line left to right and the lines top to bottom. Arrows mean going somewhere or growing, a cross means it did not work, and ZZZ means someone is asleep.
Which old tales are here?
Eight of Aesop's fables, The three little pigs, Goldilocks, Jack and the beanstalk, The ugly duckling, The princess and the pea, The elves and the shoemaker and Little Red Riding Hood. Each was read in an out-of-copyright book before it was retold.
Will the story look the same on another phone?
The emoji will be the same ones, but each maker draws its own pictures, and Unicode's emoji standard says the shape can vary significantly. None here is newer than Emoji 12.0, and none uses a skin tone or a flag.
All 27 stories
Fables and fairy tales 15
Ants and the grasshopperA grasshopper sings all summer while the ants store grain, and in winter the ants ask what the singing was for. 5 lines, 20 emoji. Retold from Aesop, The Ants and the Grasshopper. Line by line: 1 sun, cricket, violin, musical notes. 2 sun, ant, ant, sheaf of rice. 3 snowflake, cricket, pleading face. 4 ant, speech balloon, sun, musical notes, red question mark. 5 snowflake, ant, sheaf of rice, house.
The boy who cried wolfA shepherd boy shouts Wolf for a joke until the villagers stop coming, so nobody comes on the day a wolf really does. 6 lines, 22 emoji. Retold from Aesop, The Shepherd's Boy and the Wolf. Line by line: 1 boy, ewe, ewe, ewe. 2 speaking head, wolf, person running, person running. 3 boy, face with tears of joy, repeat button. 4 wolf, ewe, ewe, ewe. 5 speaking head, wolf, person shrugging. 6 ewe, dashing away, ewe, dashing away.
The crow and the pitcherA thirsty crow finds a pitcher with too little water to reach, drops stones in one by one, and drinks when the water rises. 6 lines, 19 emoji. Retold from Aesop, The Crow and the Pitcher. Line by line: 1 sun, bird, amphora. 2 amphora, droplet, down arrow. 3 bird, black circle, amphora. 4 bird, black circle, black circle, amphora. 5 amphora, droplet, up arrow. 6 bird, droplet, grinning face.
Show all 27 stories (24 more)
Fables and fairy tales, continued
Elves and the shoemakerA poor shoemaker finds his leather sewn into shoes each morning, sees two elves at work at midnight, and leaves them little clothes, which they put on and dance away in. 6 lines, 28 emoji. Retold from Brothers Grimm, The Elves and the Shoemaker. Line by line: 1 man, scissors, man’s shoe. 2 crescent moon, ZZZ, elf, elf, hammer. 3 sunrise, man’s shoe, man’s shoe, sparkles, money bag. 4 crescent moon, eyes, elf, elf, cold face. 5 woman, thread, t-shirt, jeans. 6 elf, elf, t-shirt, jeans, man dancing, woman dancing.
The fox and the grapesA hungry fox cannot reach a bunch of grapes however she tries, so she walks off saying they were sour anyway. 4 lines, 14 emoji. Retold from Aesop, The Fox and the Grapes. Line by line: 1 fox, grapes, up arrow. 2 fox, up arrow, cross mark, up arrow, cross mark. 3 fox, weary face. 4 fox, speech balloon, grapes, lemon.
Goldilocks and three bearsWhile three bears are out walking, a girl tries their porridge, chairs and beds, falls asleep, and jumps out of the window when they find her. 6 lines, 27 emoji. Retold from Flora Annie Steel, The Story of the Three Bears. Line by line: 1 bear, bear, bear, right arrow, deciduous tree. 2 girl, house, eyes. 3 bowl with spoon, fire, bowl with spoon, snowflake, bowl with spoon, OK hand. 4 chair, chair, chair, collision. 5 bed, bed, bed, ZZZ. 6 bear, bear, bear, girl, dashing away.
Jack and the beanstalkJack swaps a cow for beans, climbs the beanstalk that grows overnight, carries off gold, a hen and a harp, and chops the stalk down with the ogre on it. 6 lines, 27 emoji. Retold from Joseph Jacobs, Jack and the Beanstalk. Line by line: 1 boy, cow, right arrow, seedling. 2 crescent moon, seedling, up arrow, cloud. 3 boy, up arrow, cloud, castle, ogre. 4 boy, money bag, chicken, egg, musical notes. 5 boy, dashing away, ogre, down arrow. 6 boy, axe, herb, ogre, collision.
The lion and the mouseA lion spares a mouse that woke him, and when hunters tie the lion down with ropes the mouse gnaws him free. 6 lines, 20 emoji. Retold from Aesop, The Lion and the Mouse. Line by line: 1 lion, ZZZ, mouse. 2 lion, angry face, mouse, folded hands. 3 lion, face with tears of joy, mouse, dashing away. 4 thread, lion, thread. 5 mouse, tooth, thread. 6 lion, handshake, mouse.
Little Red Riding HoodA girl carrying cake to her grandmother stops to pick flowers, a wolf gets to the house first, and a huntsman puts things right. 6 lines, 30 emoji. Retold from Brothers Grimm, Little Red-Cap. Line by line: 1 girl, basket, shortcake, right arrow, old woman. 2 deciduous tree, evergreen tree, wolf, girl. 3 girl, blossom, bouquet, wolf, dashing away, house. 4 house, bed, wolf, glasses. 5 girl, eyes, ear, tooth. 6 man, door, wolf, dashing away, old woman, girl, shortcake.
The north wind and the sunThe north wind blows hard and a traveler only wraps his cloak tighter; then the sun shines and he takes it off. 6 lines, 19 emoji. Retold from Aesop, The North Wind and the Sun. Line by line: 1 wind face, VS button, sun. 2 person walking, coat. 3 wind face, dashing away, person walking, coat, cold face. 4 sun, sun, person walking, hot face. 5 person walking, t-shirt, sun. 6 sun, trophy.
The princess and the peaA queen hides one pea under twenty mattresses; the guest who cannot sleep on it is a real princess, and the pea goes to a museum. 6 lines, 26 emoji. Retold from Hans Christian Andersen, The Princess and the Pea. Line by line: 1 prince, magnifying glass tilted left, princess, red question mark. 2 cloud with lightning and rain, castle, door, princess, droplet. 3 crown, old woman, green circle, bed. 4 green circle, up arrow, bed, bed, bed, bed. 5 princess, tired face, sunrise. 6 prince, princess, classical building, green circle.
The three little pigsThree pigs build houses of straw, furze and bricks; a wolf blows the first two in and cannot move the third. 6 lines, 23 emoji. Retold from Joseph Jacobs, The Story of the Three Little Pigs. Line by line: 1 pig, sheaf of rice, house. 2 pig, herb, house. 3 pig, brick, house. 4 wolf, dashing away, sheaf of rice, herb, collision. 5 wolf, dashing away, dashing away, brick, house. 6 wolf, weary face, pig, grinning face.
Tortoise and the hareA hare laughs at a tortoise's pace, falls asleep by the road in the middle of their race, and wakes to find the tortoise at the goal. 5 lines, 14 emoji. Retold from Aesop, The Hare and the Tortoise. Line by line: 1 rabbit, face with tears of joy, turtle. 2 fox, chequered flag. 3 rabbit, dashing away, turtle. 4 rabbit, ZZZ, deciduous tree. 5 turtle, chequered flag, trophy.
Town and country mouseA country mouse visits a town mouse for bread, honey and cheese, has to run whenever someone opens the door, and goes home to eat in peace. 6 lines, 21 emoji. Retold from Aesop, The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse. Line by line: 1 mouse face, sheaf of rice, mouse face. 2 mouse face, mouse face, right arrow, cityscape. 3 bread, honey pot, cheese wedge. 4 door, person standing, mouse face, mouse face, dashing away. 5 mouse face, right arrow, sheaf of rice, house with garden. 6 mouse face, relieved face.
The ugly ducklingAn odd, oversized chick is mocked in the duck yard, runs away, nearly freezes in the winter ice, and in spring sees in the water that he is a swan. 6 lines, 26 emoji. Retold from Hans Christian Andersen, The Ugly Duckling. Line by line: 1 duck, egg, egg, egg, egg. 2 baby chick, baby chick, baby chick, bird. 3 baby chick, face with tears of joy, bird, crying face. 4 snowflake, bird, ice, cold face. 5 sun, tulip, bird, water wave, eyes. 6 swan, swan, swan, sparkles.
Everyday stories 8
A night campingA hike into the trees, a tent, hot dogs on the fire, stars, an owl in the dark, sleep, and sunrise over the mountains. 6 lines, 13 emoji. Line by line: 1 backpack, hiking boot, evergreen tree. 2 tent. 3 fire, hot dog. 4 milky way, shooting star. 5 flashlight, owl, eyes. 6 ZZZ, sunrise over mountains.
A rainy dayClouds gather, it pours, someone goes out under an umbrella to splash, and a rainbow ends it. 5 lines, 11 emoji. Line by line: 1 cloud, cloud, cloud with rain. 2 person walking, umbrella with rain drops. 3 droplet, droplet, sweat droplets. 4 sun behind rain cloud. 5 rainbow, grinning face.
A road tripA map, a packed car, a stop for fuel and sandwiches, mountains to photograph, and a tent at sunset. 6 lines, 11 emoji. Line by line: 1 world map, luggage. 2 automobile, motorway. 3 fuel pump, sandwich. 4 mountain, camera. 5 sunset, tent. 6 ZZZ.
A school morningThe alarm goes, breakfast is eaten, clothes go on, and the bus gets to school on time. 5 lines, 12 emoji. Line by line: 1 alarm clock, sleeping face. 2 bowl with spoon, glass of milk. 3 t-shirt, jeans, socks, running shoe. 4 backpack, bus. 5 school, waving hand.
A snow daySnow falls, school is closed, warm clothes go on, a snowman is built, the sled comes out, and it ends with a hot drink. 6 lines, 14 emoji. Line by line: 1 snowflake, snowflake, house. 2 school, cross mark. 3 scarf, gloves, coat. 4 snowman, carrot. 5 sled, dashing away. 6 hot beverage, fire.
Baking a cakeEggs, butter and milk go in a bowl, the mix goes in the oven, the timer runs, and the cake comes out to be eaten. 5 lines, 10 emoji. Line by line: 1 egg, butter, glass of milk. 2 bowl with spoon, spoon. 3 fire, timer clock. 4 birthday cake. 5 fork and knife, face savoring food.
The lost dog foundA dog slips out of the door, posters go up, a search by flashlight follows the paw prints, the phone rings, and the dog comes home. 6 lines, 16 emoji. Line by line: 1 dog, door, dashing away. 2 red question mark, crying face. 3 page facing up, dog face, pushpin. 4 flashlight, crescent moon, paw prints. 5 telephone receiver, bell. 6 dog, house, red heart.
Moving houseBoxes are packed, a truck carries them to a new house, the key turns, the furniture goes in, and dinner is pizza on a box. 6 lines, 16 emoji. Line by line: 1 package, package, package. 2 delivery truck, house, right arrow, house. 3 key, door. 4 couch and lamp, framed picture, cactus. 5 waving hand, people holding hands. 6 pizza, package.
Longer pieces 4
A day from alarm to bedTen lines from waking to sleeping: wash, breakfast, the bus, lessons, lunch, a game, home, dinner, a bath and a book. 10 lines, 23 emoji. Line by line: 1 alarm clock, sunrise. 2 shower, t-shirt. 3 bowl with spoon, banana. 4 backpack, bus, school. 5 books, pencil, artist palette. 6 sandwich, red apple. 7 soccer ball, person running. 8 house, spaghetti. 9 bathtub, books. 10 crescent moon, bed, ZZZ.
A storm rolls throughEight lines of weather: a clear sky clouds over, wind and lightning arrive, rain keeps everyone indoors by candlelight, and it clears to a rainbow. 8 lines, 18 emoji. Line by line: 1 sun, sun behind small cloud. 2 sun behind cloud. 3 cloud, cloud, wind face. 4 cloud with lightning, high voltage. 5 cloud with lightning and rain, umbrella with rain drops. 6 house, candle, dog face. 7 cloud with rain, sun behind rain cloud. 8 rainbow, sun, bird.
A year in four seasonsTwelve lines, three for each season: spring rain and flowers, summer at the beach, fall leaves and school, winter snow and a fire. 12 lines, 35 emoji. Line by line: 1 seedling, cloud with rain, tulip. 2 hatching chick, honeybee, blossom. 3 rainbow, kite. 4 sun, sunglasses, beach with umbrella. 5 soft ice cream, watermelon, person swimming. 6 tent, fire, milky way. 7 maple leaf, fallen leaf, leaf fluttering in wind. 8 red apple, backpack, school. 9 jack-o-lantern, crescent moon, owl. 10 snowflake, scarf, gloves. 11 snowman, sled, evergreen tree. 12 hot beverage, fire, ZZZ.
From seed to sunflowerEight lines: a hole is dug, rain and sun do their work, a shoot comes up and grows, insects visit, and a sunflower opens for the birds. 8 lines, 17 emoji. Line by line: 1 hole, backhand index pointing down. 2 droplet, droplet, cloud with rain. 3 sun, sun. 4 seedling. 5 seedling, up arrow, herb. 6 honeybee, lady beetle. 7 sun, sunflower. 8 bird, sunflower.
How this list was compiled: Own work, written for this page on 2026-09-30: 27 stories told in emoji alone, one scene to a line. The fifteen old tales were each read in a public-domain book on 2026-09-30 before being retold: eight fables of Aesop in George Fyler Townsend's translation (Project Gutenberg ebook 21, https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21); The Story of the Three Little Pigs and Jack and the Beanstalk in Joseph Jacobs, English Fairy Tales (ebook 7439, https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7439); The Story of the Three Bears, the telling with Goldilocks, in Flora Annie Steel, English Fairy Tales (ebook 17034, https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17034); Little Red-Cap and The Elves and the Shoemaker in Grimms' Fairy Tales (ebook 2591, https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2591); The Ugly Duckling and The Princess and the Pea in Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen (ebook 27200, https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/27200). No retelling follows a film, and no film character is drawn or named. The page is written with children in mind, so the frightening parts of the old texts are left out: the pigs' story stops at the brick house, Little Red Riding Hood's wolf leaves in a hurry, and the cake travels without the bottle that goes with it in Grimm. Every emoji was fetched by its name from https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/emoji/emoji-test.txt (read 2026-09-30); each is a fully-qualified form, none is newer than Emoji 12.0, and no story uses a skin tone or a flag. 207 different emoji are used. There is no grasshopper emoji, so the cricket stands in for one, and the crow is played by the plain bird, the black bird having arrived only in Emoji 15.0. Width counts each emoji as two columns; the widest line is 7 emoji. The eight everyday stories and four longer pieces are invented. Licence: own work