History Main / WonderChild

** Obviously, {{Jesus}}, the long-awaited Messiah, who is born to a virgin. His cousin and predecessor, John the Baptist, was also born to a barren woman past her childbearing age.

* In ''VideoGame/WorldNeverland'', there is a magical item known as a Birth Egg that magically grants children to childless older couples. If one or both members of the couple is Elderly, and if they have to other children, it will allow them one miraculous pregnancy.

* The origin of the protagonist in ''VideoGame/LittleGoodyTwoShoes''.

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* Yugo from ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'', who's a DoorstopBaby who grew up having the power create [[ThinkingUpPortals mystical space-bending portals]].

** Literature/TheBookOfJudges has Samson, arguably the most (in)famous of Israel's judge. His mother was barren, but an angel prophecied about his birth and his future role as Israel's redeemer. He was meant to live under the Nazirite vow for life, and Samson grew up to have unique, superhuman strength.

* In the medieval ChivalricRomance of ''Robert the Devil'' and all its variants, the parents [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor wish for a child -- whether from God or the Devil]]. The son is therefore born possessed by evil. (Fortunately for him, in due time, he repents and does penance for his evil. This results in either [[RagsToRoyalty marrying]] [[StandardHeroReward the princess]] or becoming a saint.)

* In the Laurel Series, Laurel was left on the doorstep of her parents, and later learns she is a fairy.

** Similarly, in "[[http://www.maerchenlexikon.de/etexte/707/te707-004.htm The Boys with the Golden Stars]]"; in "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/aulnoy/1892/princessbelleetoile.html Princess Belle-Etoile]]", a literary FairyTale; and "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/facetiousnights/night4_fable3.html Ancilotto, King of Provino]]".

* ''Literature/TheTaleOfTheBambooCutter'' A bamboo cutter finds a tiny thumb-sized, glowing baby inside a bamboo stem. He takes her home to his wife and they name her Kaguya-hime--she grows up to a normal-sized, unearthly beauty whom many men, including the Emperor, fall in love with. She ends up returning to whence she came--the moon. This space alien subtext is stronger depending on the variation you read.

** Then Jacob ''also'' had this with his [[{{Polyamory}} favorite wife]], Rachel, who eventually gave birth to Joseph and Benjamin. Though Jacob had ten older sons [[OutnumberedSibling and one daughter]], the Bible specifically says that Rachel's kids were his favorite because they were born later in his life.

* The Chinese-Tibetan fairy tale "Qing Wa Qi Shou" (The Rider in Green Clothes), which is one of the most important folk interpretations of the political relationship between those two historical states, has a very old couple who always wanted a child. The elderly woman finally gets pregnant for four months and bears a FROG. Later it is shown that in a rare occurence, after he gets his wife, the frog is able to turn into a handsome, skilled rider for a certain festival. But the wife stays at home and accidentally burns his frog skin. Therefore, the young frog man must die; if she hadn't done that he would have been the saviour of the Tibetan people, turned the inhospitable lands into fertile ground, and China would have been a tribute state to Tibet instead of the other way round. See?

* In ''Series/{{Legacies}}'', Landon Kirby is the result of his father's desperate millenia long quest of creating a lawless, immortal and fertile heir to continue his legacy. His father, Malivore, was a golem that was created with black magic to combat and devour the monsters roaming around the world. Over time and after countless failures, he managed to craft Landon using the DNA of beings he has absorbed.

[[MyBiologicalClockIsTicking Biological clocks]] are [[TheOldestOnesInTheBook nothing new.]] The childless older woman or older couple has been a staple of folklore and FairyTales. Typically, one's first introduction to such a character will be the phrase, "Character X had always wanted a child." [[LawOfInverseFertility Which, of course, guarantees infertility.]]

* "Hijo de la Luna", by the Spaniard group Mecano, tells the story of a [[UsefulNotes/{{Romani}} Romany]] woman who prayed to the moon for a husband. She got it, but in return, she had to give the moon her first child. He turned out to be an albino; the man thought she cheated on him because he was white instead of dark-skinned, killed her, and abandoned the kid in the mountains. Since that day, the moon becomes full whenever the kid is happy, and wanes to become a rocker whenever the kid is sad.

* Naturally, this occurs in Literature/TheBible, with Sarah giving birth to Isaac. Sarah was 90 years old--too old to bear a child, presumably past menopause. But if Yahweh makes a plan that involves the son of Abraham (who is 100) and Sarah founding the Jewish nation, then Sarah will miraculously give birth even though she's past menopause.
** This also happened with Isaac's own wife, Rebecca, who dealt with infertility before God blessed her with JacobAndEsau. Then Jacob ''also'' had this with his [[{{Polyamory}} favorite wife]], Rachel, who eventually gave birth to Joseph and Benjamin. Though Jacob had ten older sons [[OutnumberedSibling and one daughter]], the Bible specifically says that Rachel's kids were his favorite because they were born later in his life.
** Also in the Bible, Hannah, who vows that she will give her child back to the service of God if she is blessed to have one. She fulfilled this promise with her firstborn, [[Literature/BooksOfSamuel the prophet Samuel]], and went on to have [[MassiveNumberedSiblings five kids after him]].
** In the N.T. we have John the Baptist, and in the NT Apocrypha, the Virgin Mary.

* ''The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter''/''The Tale of Princess Kaguya:'' A bamboo cutter finds a tiny thumb-sized, glowing baby inside a bamboo stem. He takes her home to his wife and they name her Kaguya-hime--she grows up to a normal-sized, unearthly beauty whom many men, including the Emperor, fall in love with. She ends up returning to whence she came--the moon. This space alien subtext is stronger depending on the variation you read.

* In "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/facetiousnights/night2_fable1.html The Pig King]]", the child is born a pig. Unusually, the queen had not made a rash wish about any child, even a pig; this was the caprice of three [[TheFairFolk fairies]].
* In "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/pentamerone/2myrtle1911.html The Myrtle]]", the child is born as a sprig of myrtle, after her mother expressed a rash wish for a child, even a sprig of myrtle.

* The origin story of the little girl in ''VideoGame/PrincessMaker 2'' follows this: She is a "pure soul" sent by the gods to live with a human hero so that she can learn about the world.

* In ''VideoGame/WorldNeverland,'' there is a magical item known as a Birth Egg that magically grants children to childless older couples. If one or both members of the couple is Elderly, and if they have to other children, it will allow them one miraculous pregnancy.

* An elderly, childless farm couple wish that they had a child. [[Franchise/{{Superman}} They find a baby in a rocket, who has Powers And Abilities Far Beyond Those Of Mortal Men]].

* The fairy tale "Hans-my-Hedgehog" involved a couple who wanted a child, but who had difficulty having one--until the woman says, "I wouldn't care if he were ugly as a hedgehog!" She then, naturally, has a baby who looks like a hedgehog. This was later adapted into a well-loved episode of ''[[InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt Jim Henson's]] Series/TheStoryteller.''

* Although younger than most of the above examples, Isamu and Ai Amami wished on a falling star for a child. The "star" turned out to be a [[Anime/GaoGaiGar giant mechanical lion]], who delivered their wish [[DeliveryStork directly]]. Interestingly, when Galeon shows up again as part of Gao Gai Gar, they start worrying that it will come to take their son Mamoru ''back''.
* Goku of ''Manga/DragonBall'' was adopted by Grampa Gohan (who he eventually named [[Characters/DragonBallSonGohan his son]] after) after he fell to Earth in his pod as an infant. Even as a baby he exhibited superhuman strength.
* Although altogether average kids, the Katsura sisters fall into this category for ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler''. There's nothing inherently special about them, but their adopted parents were unable to have children of their own, so when Yukiji was looking for foster parents and chose her former teacher and his wife, they were probably thought of as this.
* Guts from ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'' serves as a much darker example of this trope. Shisu, a young woman who had recently miscarried her own child, is grieving her loss and is on the verge of going insane. But when all hope is lost, what does she pass by? Why, a baby! ... that was just born from its mother's dead and hanged corpse! ... [[NauseaFuel Yay!]]
** More fun: the group of mercenaries she was in thought the baby was dead, too. So when she cradled it, their leader knocked it out of her hands... and when it hit a puddle, it cried. And that's how main character Guts managed to survive infancy. Yes, his life sucked from ''birth''.
%%* Hiyakkimaru in ''Manga/{{Dororo}}'' serves as one for Jukai. This is particularly emphasized in the 2019 anime, as Jukai discovers the infant after [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane tripping over a Buddhist statue]] while in a depressive fugue and tumbling down the riverbank where Hyakkimaru's boat had finally settled.

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* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}}'', Pinocchio is brought to life by the Blue Fairy, to make Geppetto a father.

* Naturally, ''WesternAnimation/{{Thumbelina|1994}}''.

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* In the ''Literature/AmaranthineSaga'', legend has it that anyone who swallows a golden seed will give birth to a child who is born with another seed in his/her hand. If that seed is planted, it will grow into an Amarathine tree, which will share his or her lifespan with his or her "twin." It is eventually confirmed that the legends are true, and do, in fact, work for [[MisterSeahorse male swallowers]] although details are kept off page.

* In ''Literature/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio'', Geppetto carved Pinocchio from a living log.

* There's a story in one of the ''Cricket'' magazines that features something like this. The man and wife don't have any kids. However, one day the man is doing his job as a woodcutter, and he finds an enormous gold and purple butterfly cocoon. He takes it home, and they put it by the fire. The next day there is a baby girl with purple eyes wrapped in a golden cloak. Her parents insist that she avoid the forest where she came from, but it turns into a TearJerker when [[spoiler: she searches the forest for healing herbs to save her mother, and touches the bush where the purple butterflies swarm. She brings back the plants and saves her mother, but the next day, she turns back into a butterfly.]]
** There was another ''Cricket'' story about a child born of a magic potato vine. The man who sold the magic potatoes to the couple was also childless and wanted the baby for himself, but they persuaded him to accept one of the new potatoes they'd grown instead.
* In Norton Juster's ''Literature/ThePhantomTollbooth'''s BackStory, the old king had two sons, but regretted having no daughters. Then he found two golden-haired girl babies in his garden: the Princesses Rhyme and Reason.

* In Creator/VictoriaForester's ''Literature/TheGirlWhoCouldFly'', Piper is a surprisingly late birth to a childless couple, and she can (surprise!) [[{{Flight}} fly]]. It subverts the rest, as her parents were shocked and ashamed to have a child so late -- it's just not the way things are done -- and her mother's first reaction is that such results are to be expected when things aren't done the way they're supposed to be done.
* In ''Literature/HarryPotter,'' the title character's father James was a mild example. WordOfGod says that part of the reason that he was such a JerkAss as a teenager was because he was an only child born when his parents were already getting old [[WizardsLiveLonger even by wizarding standards]], [[OnlyChildSyndrome leading him to be a bit spoiled.]]
* In ''Literature/TheGrimReapersApprentice'', the Devil himself had to help with the conception of [[spoiler:Jax, who is the child of the Grim Reaper and a human.]]
* A dark version is Nadine in Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/TheStand:'' according her back story she was an orphan of unknown origin selected by her adapted parents who then died in a car accident, leaving her a foundling twice over. Evidently she was created by ''somebody'' specifically to be Randell Flagg's bride and mother of his child. (Evidently she had the choice to turn aside from this path, though the consequences would likely have been dire.)
* In ''Literature/EarthsChildren'', Durc is seen as such by his mother and most of the clan (though his origins [[PlayingWithATrope aren't truly mystical]]). Because Ayla's totem (a cave lion) is so strong, no one believed it would ever be overcome by any of the men's, meaning she would never have a child (as this is how the Clan [[{{Missconception}} think babies are conceived]]). Ayla is thrilled when she learns she's going to have a baby after all, and she and Iza do everything in their power to keep Durc alive and healthy during and after the pregnancy. Due to being a Cro-Magnon/Neanderthal hybrid, Durc is seen as rather unusual for his appearance and ability to vocalize, and Creb comes to believe he is Ayla's [[TheChosenOne "gift"]] to the Clan as he will ensure that they live on in some form even after Neanderthals go extinct. Of course, in reality Ayla was always capable of conceiving and carrying a child, although Durc's birth is still unusual given that Ayla was [[AbsurdlyYouthfulMother only eleven]] when she had him.

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* In ''Series/{{The Originals}}'' and ''Series/{{Legacies}}'', Hope Mikaelson was fathered by a werewolf-vampire hybrid, Klaus Mikaelson, despite his undead nature.

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* In ''Literature/HarryPotter,'' the title character's father James was a mild example. WordOfGod says that part of the reason that he was such a JerkAss as a teenager was because he was [[OnlyChildSyndrome an only child]] born when his parents were already getting old [[WizardsLiveLonger even by wizarding standards]], leading him to be a bit spoiled.

* A queen wanted a child badly, but lived in a land with no men. So she made a clay statue of a baby, and the gods, in reward for her faithfulness, [[Franchise/WonderWoman turned it into a real girl]].

** And the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series, where the Mallet ([[SpellMyNameWithAnS or some similarly-named item]]) inflicts and removes [[IncredibleShrinkingMan the Mini status]].