Website References

Folktales
Traditional Folktales
*what most people are
referring to when they
talk about a folk tale

Fables
Sometimes called or
blended with folktales
Usually short stories

Sometimes called or
blended with fables

Animals often act like

humans

Oral stories
Passed down from generation to generation
Part of a cultures traditions
Help to explain parts of a culture
Stories can be different depending on where they came from
Used to share ideas, values, and beliefs in a culture
Usually are timeless and placeless stories
Myths
The storyteller and
audience dont have to
believe the myth for the
story to be re-told to
others, over time

http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/07/folklore_d
efinitions.html
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interacti
ves/fairytales/
http://dictionary.reference.com/
http://www.britannica.com

Legends
Similarities to tall tales

Tall Tales
Similarities to legends

Sometimes blended with

myth

Usually based on the life

of a real person or event

Often involve royalty

Presumed to be based on
historical facts

Usually connected to a
real historical time period

Not originally created for

children

Person is believed to
have existed in a past
time

Can be about everyday

people with superhuman
abilities

Often good vs evil/bad

People usually stop

believing in a myth if it is
proven to be false

Often not told with

accurate facts

Story has unbelievable

parts, but is told as if it is
true

Are used to explain

something that happens
in nature

Usually an exaggerated
story about a person,
place, or thing

Often have gods and

goddesses

Many legends exaggerate

the acts of a hero

The narrator usually tells

the story as if he/she was
there too

Can have magic and

unusual creatures

Example
Davey Crockett

Example
I caught a fish THIS big!

Often old stories

Fairy Tales
Often start with Once
upon a time

Can use exaggeration

Have a lesson or a moral
Animals often act like
humans
Have a lesson or a moral
Characters use their
brains to solve problems,
not magic
Example
Conejito by Margaret
Read MacDonald

Characters use their

brains to solve problems,
not magic
Often there is trickery in
the story
Example
Aesops Fables

Usually not based on

facts

Can be used to teach a

lesson
Good characters are
often rewarded and bad
characters are punished
Example
Greek myths, ghost
stories

Usually funny

Can be used to teach a

lesson
Often have an element of
magic
Can end with They lived
happily ever after.
Example
Cinderella, Rapunzel

Fractured Fairy Tales

Similar to fairy tales
Usually written by an
author and not part of
the original oral tradition
Usually from more recent
times
Are stories based on
original fairy tales, but
with changes
The author uses a wellknown fairy tale and
changes the characters,
setting, plot, and/or
points of view
Example
The Three Little Wolves
and the Big Bad Pig by
Eugenios Trivizas