• 100 story ideas
  • Checked October 2026

Three Wishes Story Ideas

Three premises for a three wishes story, each with its catch and where the third wish goes.

Three Wishes Story Ideas

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  1. A clerk wishes his boss a long vacation.Catch: the clerk is left in charge. Third wish: that the boss comes back rested, and soon.
  2. A stray dog grants three wishes to whoever feeds it, and the whole street has been feeding it.Catch: nobody can say whose wishes they are. Third wish: the street spends it on the dog.
  3. A woman in a long line says, I wish this would move, and it does.First two: a house and a garden. Left with: the front of the line at the post office, and a story.

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Who grants them 25

  • A clockmaker mends a clock that strikes thirteen, and the thirteenth stroke offers her three wishes. Catch: each wish lasts until the clock strikes thirteen again. Third wish: she takes out the mainspring first.
  • A fallen star lands in a farm pond and offers three wishes to anyone who can get it back up. Catch: it cannot grant its own way home. Third wish: a very good throwing arm.
  • A genie has moved into a soup thermos, lamps being hard to come by. Catch: every wish comes out lukewarm. Third wish: made straight after a refill, while the thermos is hot.
  • A great-aunt nobody has met mails the family three wishes in a padded envelope. Catch: she has used a corner of each already. Third wish: the family writes to ask what she left out.
  • A house cat has been a wish granter all along and offers its owner three, mostly out of boredom. Catch: the cat decides what counts as granted. Third wish: a sunnier windowsill, which the cat approves.
  • A library book grants three wishes to each borrower and is due back in two weeks. Catch: a wish not made by the due date goes to the next reader. Third wish: left in on purpose, with a note.
  • A lighthouse lamp grants three wishes to whoever polishes it, and the keeper has polished it for forty years without asking. Catch: the lamp counted every polish, so she has more wishes than plans. Third wish: someone to give the rest to.
  • A mountain echo grants three wishes to anyone who can shout a wish it does not change. Catch: it sends every wish back with one word wrong. Third wish: a hiker shouts a wish of one word.
  • A pawnshop takes wishes in trade and sells a set of three, lightly used. Catch: each one still carries its first owner's wording. Third wish: the buyer goes looking for that owner.
  • A pear tree grants three wishes to the girl who waters it through a dry summer. Catch: it grants in fruit, and fruit takes its time. Third wish: ripe the autumn she comes back grown.
  • A quilt has three wishes stitched into it, one in each corner but the fourth. Catch: every wish unpicks its corner. Third wish: she sews a wish into the fourth corner first, to see.
  • A retired wish granter owes three wishes to the boy who returns her lost glasses. Catch: she is out of practice, and every wish comes one size too big. Third wish: he asks for something small.
  • A river grants three wishes to anyone who gets across it without getting wet. Catch: it hears only what is said in midair. Third wish: shouted from a rope swing, one word long.
  • A scarecrow grants three wishes to the first crow brave enough to land on its hat. Catch: it can grant only what it has seen, which is one field. Third wish: the crow asks for a taller pole.
  • A snow globe grants three wishes to whoever shakes it, and the tiny town inside would like a word. Catch: every wish sets off a blizzard in there. Third wish: the town's mayor is allowed to word it.
  • A stray dog grants three wishes to whoever feeds it, and the whole street has been feeding it. Catch: nobody can say whose wishes they are. Third wish: the street spends it on the dog.
  • A tide pool grants three wishes at low tide to whoever brings back the shell it lost. Catch: the tide comes in halfway through a sentence. Third wish: finished the next morning as a different wish.
  • A toll bridge troll pays his own way in wishes: three to the first traveler who crosses without grumbling about the toll. Catch: each wish works only while she stands on the bridge. Third wish: a much longer bridge.
  • A vending machine in a bus station drops a can labeled Three Wishes for exact change. Catch: each wish runs out when the next bus leaves. Third wish: made on the bus, to see whether that counts.
  • A weather vane grants three wishes to whoever climbs up to oil it. Catch: each wish arrives from wherever the vane points. Third wish: she waits a week for a south wind.
  • A wish granter on her first day delivers three wishes to the wrong house. Catch: the right house is next door, watching through the hedge. Third wish: the two houses word it together.
  • A wish granter runs a booth at the county fair, between the ring toss and the lemonade. Catch: the wishes are prizes, and the hoops are small. Third wish: won on the last ring of the night.
  • A wish granter with a bad cold sneezes in the middle of every grant. Catch: each wish lands a few feet to the left. Third wish: the wisher stands a few feet to the right.
  • An old cookbook has a page near the back headed Three Wishes, with the method left blank. Catch: you write the method yourself and then have to follow it. Third wish: handed on with the book.
  • Three small spirits grant one wish each, and they have not agreed on anything in a hundred years. Catch: each spirit quietly undoes a little of the last one's work. Third wish: worded to flatter all three.

A wish that backfires 25

  • A balloon seller wishes that her balloons would never pop. Goes wrong: they never come down either, and the sky over the park is filling up. Third wish: one pin.
  • A beekeeper wishes that her honey were worth its weight in gold. Goes wrong: it now weighs as much as gold, and the shelves give way. Third wish: honey as light as honey.
  • A boy wishes it could be Saturday every day. Goes wrong: his birthday falls on a Wednesday this year. Third wish: the whole week back, Mondays included.
  • A boy wishes that his little brother would stop copying him. Goes wrong: the brother now does the opposite of everything, loudly. Third wish: to be copied again.
  • A cook wishes for a soup pot that is never empty. Goes wrong: it is always the same soup, and the pot cannot be washed. Third wish: an empty pot and a new recipe.
  • A farmer wishes for rain. Goes wrong: he never said how much, and by Friday the scarecrow is knee-deep. Third wish: a week of plain sun.
  • A fisherman wishes that his net would always come up full. Goes wrong: he never said full of fish, and it is mostly boots. Third wish: a cobbler's shop.
  • A gardener wishes that nothing in her garden would ever wilt. Goes wrong: the weeds were in the garden too. Third wish: one honest frost.
  • A girl wishes her room would tidy itself. Goes wrong: the room decides her rock collection is a mess. Third wish: the rocks back, on a shelf she fills.
  • A girl wishes that her birthday would hurry up. Goes wrong: it is tomorrow, and nobody has been invited. Third wish: the long wait back, with a list to fill it.
  • A juggler wishes never to drop anything again. Goes wrong: she cannot put anything down either, teacups included. Third wish: the right to let go.
  • A man wishes never to be late again. Goes wrong: every clock in town now waits for him, and so does everyone else. Third wish: an alarm clock.
  • A man wishes to remember everything. Goes wrong: that includes every jingle and every wrong turn. Third wish: to forget on purpose, jingles first.
  • A mayor wishes that her town would be famous. Goes wrong: it is famous for the wish, and crowds come to make their own. Third wish: fame for the pie instead.
  • A painter wishes that her pictures would look real. Goes wrong: the painted rain is getting the gallery floor wet. Third wish: frames that hold water.
  • A sailor wishes for a wind that is always at her back. Goes wrong: a wind at her back can never bring her home. Third wish: a wind that turns around when she does.
  • A shopkeeper wishes that every customer would leave happy. Goes wrong: they leave happy before they buy anything. Third wish: one hard-to-please regular.
  • A shy boy wishes that everyone would know his name. Goes wrong: everyone uses it, all day, from across the street. Third wish: that people learn it by asking.
  • A sleepy girl wishes for one more hour in every morning. Goes wrong: everyone gets the hour, so school starts just as early. Third wish: an earlier bedtime, which was free.
  • A student wishes to know every answer. Goes wrong: she knows them before the questions, and nobody finishes a sentence. Third wish: one surprise.
  • A tailor wishes for a suit that fits anyone. Goes wrong: it fits whoever stands nearest and changes in the middle of a handshake. Third wish: one owner.
  • A tired father wishes for a quiet house. Goes wrong: the kettle, the doorbell and the laughing go quiet too. Third wish: all of it back, trumpet included.
  • A traveler wishes that his suitcase weighed nothing. Goes wrong: it drifts off down the platform. Third wish: the weight back, which now feels like company.
  • A woman wishes that her small house were bigger inside. Goes wrong: the kitchen is now ten minutes from the bedroom. Third wish: a bicycle for the hallway.
  • A writer wishes for a pen that never runs out of story. Goes wrong: it will not write an ending. Third wish: two words, The End, and she has to choose where.

The wasted third wish 25

  • A boy blurts out his third wish to stop a ball that is rolling toward a storm drain. First two: a puppy and a yard. Left with: the ball, an inch from the grate, and the puppy's full respect.
  • A boy in a math test says, I wish it were lunchtime, with one wish left. First two: a bike and a bell for it. Left with: lunchtime, and the test still there after it.
  • A boy makes his third wish out loud in his sleep. First two: a hammock and a tree to hang it from. Left with: a giraffe in a raincoat at the foot of the bed.
  • A boy spends his third wish proving to his friend that the first two were real. First two: a go-kart and a hill to roll it down. Left with: no wishes, and a friend who believes him.
  • A boy uses his first wish badly, his second to forget it and his third to find out what it was. First two: a mystery and a blank. Left with: the memory, which is not as bad as not knowing.
  • A girl asks the granter to hold her third wish for later, and the granter loses it. First two: skates and a frozen pond. Left with: an apology and a search of every pocket.
  • A girl makes her second wish, and her little brother says, me too. First two: a tree house and a ladder. Left with: two ladders.
  • A girl spends her third wish asking the granter what most people wish for. First two: a telescope and a clear night. Left with: the answer, which is a clear night.
  • A girl spends her third wish on seeing what would have happened if she had wished differently. First two: a pony and a field. Left with: a look at a girl with a boat and a lake, who seems about as happy.
  • A grandfather spends his third wish settling a bet about how tall the hill behind the house is. First two: a porch and a rocking chair. Left with: the answer in feet. He was off by two.
  • A hiccup cuts off a girl's third wish after the word more. First two: a kite and a windy day. Left with: more of what she was looking at, which was clouds.
  • A king spends two wishes with great care and the third by saying, I wish I had four. First two: a peace treaty and a good harvest. Left with: the rule about that, read to him slowly.
  • A man is so afraid of wasting his third wish that he asks for more time to think, and that is the wish. First two: a cabin and a wood stove. Left with: a long winter by the stove, thinking, which suits him.
  • A man puts his third wish somewhere safe and forgets where. First two: a workshop and good light. Left with: a lifetime of looking in drawers, which he finds he likes.
  • A man with one wish left says, I wish I knew what to wish for, and at once he knows. First two: a rowboat and a calm lake. Left with: the perfect wish and nothing to make it with.
  • A poet spends his third wish on the word that has been on the tip of his tongue all week. First two: a quiet room and a year to write in it. Left with: the word, which was not worth it.
  • A tourist is granted three wishes in a language she does not speak and spends the third on a translation. First two: unknown, since she only nodded. Left with: a goat, a very large hat and the reasons for both.
  • A traveler spends her third wish on directions to a place that is around the corner. First two: boots that never wear out and a map of everywhere. Left with: the map, which she had not opened.
  • A woman in a long line says, I wish this would move, and it does. First two: a house and a garden. Left with: the front of the line at the post office, and a story.
  • A woman keeps her third wish in a jar on the mantel for so long that it goes flat. First two: a piano and the patience to learn it. Left with: a wish that only works on small things now.
  • A woman saves her third wish for an emergency and spends it at seventy on finding her glasses. First two: a bookshop and a cat to sit in it. Left with: the glasses, which were on her head.
  • A woman spends her third wish on a parking space. First two: a restaurant of her own and a full house on opening night. Left with: the space out front, daily.
  • A woman spends her third wish undoing her second, which undid her first. First two: curly hair, then straight hair again. Left with: curls, and a lost afternoon she rather enjoyed.
  • Two old friends lose the coin they were flipping for the third wish and spend the wish getting it back. First two: a fishing boat each. Left with: the coin, which they frame and take turns keeping.
  • Two sisters share three wishes and cannot agree on the last, so it goes on ending the argument. First two: one each, a trampoline and a drum kit. Left with: peace, which neither would have picked.

Wishing for someone else 25

  • A baker wishes the new bakery across the street well, since a busy street is good for both. Catch: it does better than his. Third wish: he has to decide whether he meant the first.
  • A boy spends all three wishes on his grandmother, who would rather he had asked first. Catch: she liked her old kettle. Third wish: he hands it to her to word herself.
  • A boy wishes his rival good luck, not meaning it, and the granter cannot hear tone. Catch: the rival's luck is now excellent. Third wish: the same wish again, meant this time.
  • A boy wishes that his dad had more free time, and wakes up with his dad's chores. Catch: the time has to come out of somebody's day. Third wish: a Saturday they split down the middle.
  • A boy wishes that his friend would win the spelling bee. Catch: she wanted to win it herself and can tell. Third wish: a rematch that nobody helps with.
  • A boy wishes that the worst player on his team would score a goal. Catch: the goal is scored at the wrong end. Third wish: a second half.
  • A bus driver is granted three wishes and spends them on her passengers without telling them. Catch: she can only guess from what people say on a bus. Third wish: for the man who never says a word.
  • A child wishes that her mother would get the job, and she does. Catch: the job is in another city. Third wish: a new school with one familiar face in it.
  • A child wishes that the new kid would feel at home in class. Catch: his home was a houseboat, and now the classroom rocks. Third wish: a field trip to the river.
  • A clerk wishes his boss a long vacation. Catch: the clerk is left in charge. Third wish: that the boss comes back rested, and soon.
  • A girl is granted three wishes on one condition: none of them may be for herself. Catch: a wish she would also enjoy does not count. Third wish: goes to a neighbor she does not much like.
  • A girl spends her wishes on the things her best friend wanted last year. Catch: the friend has since gone off horses. Third wish: she asks first this time.
  • A girl wishes her mother one whole day off. Catch: her mother has forgotten how to do nothing and sorts the garage. Third wish: a day off with a plan in it.
  • A girl wishes her shy brother a friend, and one appears on the doorstep. Catch: the friend knows he was wished for and is not sure he likes it. Third wish: that he may choose to stay.
  • A girl wishes that her cat could have anything it wants. Catch: it wants the armchair, the fish tank and breakfast at four. Third wish: one for the fish.
  • A girl wishes that her grandfather could see his old village again. Catch: he sees it as it is now, with a parking lot on the green. Third wish: one hour of it as he remembers.
  • A girl wishes that the town's old theater would open again. Catch: it opens exactly as it closed, halfway through the second act. Third wish: an audience.
  • A man wishes his neighbor's garden into bloom to end an old feud with kindness. Catch: the neighbor made the same wish, and neither can find the fence now. Third wish: a shared gate.
  • A mother gives each of her three children one wish, to be spent on one of the other two. Catch: each finds out how little they know the others. Third wish: the youngest's, and the only one that fits.
  • A woman on the third floor is granted three wishes for her whole apartment building. Catch: it has to be something a building can have. Third wish: an elevator that works.
  • A woman wishes for her sister to be happy, and the granter asks her to be more exact. Catch: she cannot say what her sister wants. Third wish: one free afternoon to go and ask.
  • A woman wishes that her brother's luck would change, and it does, in both directions. Catch: luck that changes once keeps changing. Third wish: plain, steady, ordinary luck.
  • An old man gives his three wishes to three strangers on a train and watches what they do. Catch: he may not give advice. Third wish: goes to a child, who hands it back to him.
  • Three wishes can only be given away, each to someone who has not asked for anything. Catch: the first two people want to know why them. Third wish: left on a doorstep with no note.
  • Two friends are granted three wishes each, and each starts spending them on the other. Catch: neither likes what the other picked. Third wish: each asks first, and both ask for the same thing.

How it works

These three wishes story ideas are 100 new premises in four groups: who grants the wishes, a wish that backfires, the wasted third wish and wishing for someone else. Nobody comes to harm, and no known tale is retold.

Read the full guide

Be careful what you wish for

A wish that backfires is granted to the letter. The fisherman asks for a net that always comes up full and gets boots, because he never said fish. The line under each of those premises says what goes wrong, then where the third wish goes: sometimes on undoing the first, sometimes on a cobbler's shop.

A three wish story needs its ending first

The pattern is three chances and a catch, so decide what the third wish buys before you write the first. In The wasted third wish the line gives the first two wishes and what the wisher is left with, such as two ladders for one tree house.

  • Write the wish out word for word before you write the scene. The catch lives in the wording.
  • Make the second wish the worst of the three. It is usually a rushed attempt to fix the first.
  • Give the granter a reason to be there, even if it is only a thermos to get back to.

Questions and answers

What is the three wishes story?

An old tale of foolish wishes, filed by folklorists as tale type 750A. In the French fairy tale The Ridiculous Wishes a woodcutter wishes for sausages, then wishes them onto his wife's nose, and the last wish goes on taking them off again.

Why are there always three wishes?

Stories count in threes. Writers call it the rule of three: a trio is the smallest amount needed to make a pattern, and the habit grew out of oral storytelling. Here one wish sets things going, one makes them worse and one settles them.

How should a three wishes story end?

On the third wish. It can undo the damage, as in the old tale, be thrown away on something small, or be handed to someone else.

Do the wishes have to go wrong?

No. In Wishing for someone else most wishes are kind, and the trouble is only that nobody asked: a grandmother liked her old kettle. Several of the wasted third wishes turn out well, such as a parking space outside the wisher's own restaurant.

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