Folk tales

Unlike myths, folk tales are not about gods, nor are they about origins of the world or
nature. Told primarily for entertainment, folk tales are not taken as truthful or factual by their
audience.

The characters in folk tales are usually ordinary humans or animals that act like humans.
Typically, the humans are peasants or other members of lowly classes; often, they are
portrayed as having better values than the rich and powerful.

These tales are told in a simple style, sometimes with each character representing one human trait
(greed, curiosity, kindness, and so on). Many folk tales feature a kind or cruel supernatural being, such as a
giant or a fairy godmother. Magic and enchantment may play a key role in these stories.

The themes of folk tales are usually simple - the reward of good, the punishment of evil, the
exposing of a fool. Some folk tales teach practical lessons for living; others illustrate moral truths or offer
warnings about dangers to avoid.

Folk tales are stories of adventures both plausible (believable) and implausible
(unbelievable) wrapped in the forms of human or animal abilities. Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood,
and the Story of the Three Little Pigs, are all examples of childhood folk tales. They are simple tales that
have truly evil people or animals, and truly good people or animals, and the good always wins
out in the end in these stories, giving way to the child's version of fairness. These stories usually start
out like: "Once upon a time in a far away land there lived a....," or "Once upon a time there
was...."

All cultures have folk tales and while the characters have changed slightly in some of the
stories, or the plot might have changed in some fashion, the main idea is still there. An excellent example
of the same story in different versions can be seen in the story of Lon Po Po from China, the story of Little
Red Riding Hood from France, and the story of Little Red Cap from Germany, all of which share the
same themes. A little girl who wears red goes through the forest on the way to her grandmother's house
and is met by a wolf. The wolf gets into the house and somehow the people trick the wolf so that he does
not get to eat or finish digesting the people he wants for a meal.

Folk tales proved to be excellent vehicles for teaching children the values and lessons in
behavior which the storyteller thought appropriate. 1

Key Learning Points :

Folk tales are not about gods, nor are they about origins of the world or nature.
Folk tales are stories of adventures both believable and unbelievable. However, they
are not taken as truthful or factual by their audience.
Folk tales contain characters which are human, animal or both.
Typically, the humans are peasants or members of lowly classes; often, they are
portrayed as having better values than the rich and powerful.
The characters of folk tales are usually truly good or truly evil.
Magic and enchantment may play a key role in folk tales.
Folk tales always have a happy ending (good always wins out over evil).
Folk tales usually start out with Once upon a time...
All cultures have folk tales.
Folk tales are used to teach children values, morals and appropriate behavior.

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1
Folktale, Myth, Legend and Fable. Charity Belle Mays. http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/tradmays.htm