The Tinder-Box, The Princess and the Pea, Thumbelina, The Little Mermaid, The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Staunch Tin Soldier, Willie Winkie, The Nightingale, The Ugly Duckling, The Snow Queen. Hans Christian Anderson was a Danish author who published his fairy tales in the late 1800s. In Western culture, there are a few authors who were particularly important in the formal recording of fairy tales.

We can explore outcomes and possibilities.įairy tales exist in every culture in the world and there are elements of the fairy tale going back for as long as people have been telling stories. Through imagination, we learn about our world. In a fairy tale anything can happen and any kind of creature can exist, and when anything can happen, we can find solutions to things in our real lives. It is where the troubles of the real world can meet the supernatural and mix things up. They give us an outlet for experiencing things in our minds before we experience them in the real world.

Tales of Fate: The Robber Bridegroom, Oedipus (Aarne-Thompson)įairy tales are important because they spark the imagination.

Realistic Tales: The Falsely Accused Wife, Ariadne.

Religious Tales: The Three Green Twigs, The Flower of Lily-Lo.

Supernatural Power or Knowledge: The White Snake, Ali Baba.Supernatural Helpers: Cinderella, Puss In Boots.Supernatural or Enchanted Relatives: Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast.Supernatural Adversaries: Hansel and Gretel, Red Riding Hood.Here are some of those types and examples of stories that fit those types: Therefore, they are categorized by their elements, types, or motifs. There are no rules that define fairy tales.

If a story takes place in a magical land, with fantastical creatures who perform wondrous tasks, it is very likely a fairy tale. For example, stories of the tooth fairy, the boogeyman, leprechauns and pots of gold or even Santa Claus. Many tales that your parents or grandparents may have told you off the top of their heads are also fairy tales. They belong to no one and have been adapted and retold countless times.įairy tales do not need to be written down to be legitimate. Look at your bookshelf or your DVD collection. Fairy tales are often traditional many were passed down from story-teller to story-teller before being recorded in books.įairy tales, in the literary sense, are easy to find. The term “fairy” tale seems to refer more to the fantastic and magical setting or magical influences within a story, rather than the presence of the character of a fairy within that story.

A fairy tale is a story, often intended for children, that features fanciful and wondrous characters such as elves, goblins, wizards, and even, but not necessarily, fairies.

The complete fairy tales and stories