Considering the option of writing a folk/fairy tale for one of my classes instead of the usual term paper. I like the idea of being able to put my knowledge of the conventions to a use other than simply mentioning them.

Anyway, here's some rough ideas:

CHARACTERS:
- young man, mysterious past, lives in small village with "uncle" or other such; all his apparently "bad" qualities--imaginativeness, etc. --turn out to be his advantages in his quest
- The Flower Princess: quest object and assumed happily-ever-after bride of above

PLOT:
- boy hears rumor of "Flower Princess," a maiden of legendary beauty and wealth who has been transformed into a beautiful flower by a curse
- he goes off to find her, thinking he'll keep her for himself
- she is guarded by something or other, who administers the three tests
- test of Imagination: "Look up there, in the sky.... what do you see?" (Cloud=wrong answer; Dragon=right answer--IMAGINATION)
- test of Courage:
- test of Wisdom: appreciating the flower's beauty for its own sake, he decides not to pluck it out of the ground. By NOT plucking the flower, he releases the curse and frees the princess, succeeding where all others have failed

*** more to come ***