Grumpy

"I need my pain. It makes me Grumpy."

- Grumpy to Snow White

Grumpy, formerly known as Dreamy, is a recurring character on Once Upon a Time. He débuts in the first episode of the first season. He is played by guest star Lee Arenberg, and is the fairytale counterpart of Leroy.

Grumpy is based on a character from the fairytale, "Snow White".

Season One
Grumpy was formerly known as Dreamy. He was grown in an incubator in the mines and hatched from an egg, along with his seven brothers. As soon as he was ready, he was given a magical pickaxe that named its owner and was sent to the mines to work. Dwarves mine diamonds that are ground into fairy dust.

A year later a clumsy fairy by the name of Nova was collecting the year's supply of fairy dust and was unable to turn off the grinding/dispensing machine. Nova called for help as her bag was getting dangerously close to overflowing, and a few seconds later Dreamy came and helped her turn off the machine. Nova thanked him, but then her bag was scooped up and put on the assembly line heading for the furnace.

After a few paralyzing seconds, Dreamy climbed up and managed to grab the bag of fairy dust before it was incinerated. Nova thanks him and talks about her dream to become a fairy godmother, and Dreamy tells her that she would make a great fairy godmother. Nova, in turn, casually invites him to Firefly Hill to see the fireflies with her later that day, but he fails to get the subtle invitation, and she leaves, disheartened.

That night, he is celebrating at a human bar with his brothers, albeit half-heartedly. He tells his boss, Bossy, that he feels strange, but Bossy scoffs and walks away. However, a human woman named Belle knows what is going on and tells him that he is in love. Dreamy questions her about love and tells her about Nova mentioning Firefly Hill. Belle laughs and says that she was inviting him to go with her. Dreamy gets excited and runs off.

He reaches Firefly Hill just in time to find Nova is waiting. While there, the two fall in love and make secret plans to travel the world together on a boat.

The next night, Dreamy is packing his bag and is about to leave to go with Nova when Stealthy, one of his brothers, stops him. One by one, all of the other seven dwarves wake up and ask him where he's going. Dreamy explains his love for Nova and the plans they've made together, and his brothers wish him luck.

Halfway to Firefly Hill, Dreamy is stopped by the Blue Fairy and Bossy. They point out that dwarves can't fall in love, and that Nova wants to become a fairy godmother. The Blue Fairy says that the two of them would accomplish great things alone, but they would make a disastrous couple. They give him a choice - ruin both of their lives, or make Nova happy.

Dreamy goes to Firefly Hill, where Nova is waiting. She conjures a spyglass and shows him the ship that she acquired for their travels. Dreamy tells her that the two of them cannot be together, citing that dwarves don't fall in love, and that she deserved to be a fairy godmother. Nova quickly catches on that a conversation with the Blue Fairy has caused his change of heart and demands to know what she said to him. However, Dreamy says that he can't love, and he walks away, leaving Nova in tears.

He returns to the mines and upon his arrival he asks for his magical axe, which breaks as he is furiously trying to chip diamonds and rubies out of the rock. Bossy then supplies Dreamy with a new magical axe that gives him the new name of Grumpy.

Some time later, as depicted in the episode 7:15 A.M., he was arrested and thrown into King George's dungeon, where he meets Snow White. As he tells her, it's because of love he is stuck in this prison. Grumpy explains how he fell in love with a certain fairy (alluding to Nova) and lost her, but wanted to win her back. So he formulated a plan by working at the diamond mines and traded all his wages to the foreman in exchange for a diamond to propose to her. However, Grumpy was swindled as the diamond was a stolen one, and he took the blame for it landing himself in jail.

He counsels her on her lost love, Prince Charming, and is fully content to stay in the prison. However, Stealthy suddenly arrives to break him out. Snow White convinces Grumpy to let her out, too.

On their way to escape, Stealthy is killed by King George's men. Snow White agrees to give herself up for Grumpy's life, and Grumpy goes free. After Snow White is secretly forced by King George to claim that she doesn't love Prince Charming, she meets all seven dwarves in the woods and goes to live with them in their cottage.

Later at the cottage she is about to drink a magical potion that Rumpelstiltskin gave her to forget about her lost love Prince Charming, but Grumpy stops her and convinces her to hold out on the potion for just a little while. Once Charming's wedding to the princess Abigail is canceled, Grumpy is the one to break the news to Snow; however, she has already drank the potion, and thus no longer remembers who Charming is.

Because of this potion, Snow becomes easily irritated, angry, annoyed, and rude. Finally, Grumpy and the other dwarves decide to bring in Jiminy Cricket to help her with her new self. However, the cricket fails to help Snow, and only gives her the idea to kill the Evil Queen.

Grumpy finds Snow stealing one of the Evil Queen's guard's armor, and reprimands her, insisting that her plan wouldn't work. He then suggests taking her back to Rumpelstiltskin to fix her, to which she agrees, but not for the reasons he suggests. While at Rumpelstiltskin's palace, Grumpy is shocked when the imp doesn't fix his friend, but instead encourages her in her mission.

Rumpelstiltskin gives Snow a bow and arrow, and tells her where to shoot so that the assassination would be successful. Grumpy is incredulous, and tells Snow that she will take her mission on alone.

Many days after, Snow returns to the cottage and gives Happy a replacement of his favorite cup that she broke under the potions spell. She reveals that the curse created by the potion has been broken and she apologizes for her recent behavior. She then reveals that Prince Charming was taken by King George's men, and that she needed to rescue him. The dwarves accept her apology and take up their pickaxes as they proclaim that she can't do it alone and luckily she won't have to because they will help her. Grumpy enlists the help of the fairies to attack King George's castle and free Prince Charming.

Many months after Snow and Charming reunite, Grumpy is seen meeting with others discussing how to defeat the Evil Queen's impending Dark Curse. Grumpy is in favor of war instead of the idea of creating a magical wardrobe that the Blue Fairy suggests to the royal family, but nevertheless is overridden when the group votes for the crafting of the wardrobe.

Grumpy is last seen watching for the Dark Curse with Sleepy. On the day of Emma Swan's birth, he sights the Dark Curse and rings the warning bell that lets the townspeople know that the Curse was upon them.

Season Two
For events occurring after the breaking of the Dark Curse, see Leroy's page.

Appearances
Grincheux