Folktales are stories that have been passed from generation to generation, usually told.

Later, folktales were written down and shared.

These stories are called Traditional Tales-they share messages from the past that still apply today, and will in the future!

  Tall tales are stories written from someone’s imagination.  The story can be funny or silly.  They are filled with exaggerations, similes, metaphors, and lots of descriptive language.  It is always told as if it were true, even though the listeners know that the story could never really happen.

Some of the characters were real heroes and heroines whose stories got exaggerated a lot, others were characters such as cowboys, railroad workers, loggers, sea captains, and firefighters.  Tall tales told information that really happened at the time and combined it with a wild tale full of fantasy.

In general the tales were about people who were trying to conquer the American Wilderness.  Most of these tall tales were written back in the 1800's when the pioneers were trying to conquer the wilderness of America.  It was a way for the pioneers to make the taming of America a little easier to handle.

What are they?

  Tall Tales have exaggerations The main character is bigger than life with super-human skills Explains how some familiar things began Hero has problems with nature, people, and/or progress.

Review

A fairy tale is a fictional story that may feature folkloric characters (such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, witches, giants, and talking animals) and enchantments, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events. The term is also used to describe something blessed with unusual happiness, as in "fairy tale ending" (a happy ending) or "fairy tale romance," though not all fairy tales end happily.

Fairy Tale

Characters are simple.One is good.One is wicked.One character is someone of royalty (king, queen, prince, princess, etc.)The story begins with “once upon a time” or something similar.Plots are simple and direct.Magic events, characters and objects are part of the story.Certain numbers like three and seven are often in the story.

Fairy TalesReview

Fable are FictionShort narrative such as a short story or folktaleEnds in a moral or lessonCharacters are usually animals that talk and act like humans, but keep their animal traitsA character usually represents a single human characteristic such as fox being symbolic or a trickster

Fables

A fable usually has animal characters with human traits (for example, a wise owl, or a foolish monkey). The story also has a moral to it, which is a valuable lesson that the reader, as well as the animal in the story learns. All fables have a:

•Beginning:• Setting, characters in situation •Middle:• An explanation of what the problem is and how

the characters attempt to solve problem. •End:

Moral or lesson to be learned from story

Fables

Now you try your detective skills. Read

the examples and decide, fairy tale, fable, or tall tale.

Now everyone knows that Alfred Bulltop Stormalong was the ultimate sailor. He was the captain of a mighty ship known as the Courser, which was so wide that she couldn't sail into Boston Harbor and so tall that the mast was hinged into the middle so it could be taken down to avoid the sun and the moon whenever they passed by. Her keel was so deep that no harbor in the world could take her, so she spent all her time in deep water.

Fable

Fairy Tale

Tall Tale

When he woke up, the room looked so funny. The sun was shining into part of it, and yet all the rest was quite dark and shady. So Jack jumped up and dressed himself and went to the window. And what do you think he saw? Why, the beans his mother had thrown out of the window into the garden, had sprung up into a big beanstalk which went up and up and up till it reached the sky. So the man spoke truth after all.

Fable

Fairy Tale

Tall Tale

The Crow and the Pitcher A Crow, half-dead with thirst, came upon a Pitcher which had once been full of water; but when the Crow put its beak into the mouth of the Pitcher he found that only very little water was left in it, and that he could not reach far enough down to get at it. He tried, and he tried, but at last had to give up in despair. Then a thought came to him, and he took a pebble and dropped it into the Pitcher. Then he took another pebble and dropped it into the Pitcher. Then he took another pebble and dropped that into the Pitcher. Then he took another pebble and dropped that into the Pitcher. Then he took another pebble and dropped that into the Pitcher. Then he took another pebble and dropped that into the Pitcher. At last, at last, he saw the water mount up near him, and after casting in a few more pebbles he was able to quench his thirst and save his life. Little by little does the trick.

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Fairy Tale

Tall Tale

Imagine, if you can, the excitement that was caused by the birth of Paul Bunyan! It took five giant storks, working overtime, to deliver him to his parents.

He cut his teeth on a peavy pole and grew so fast the after one week he had to wear his father's clothes. His lungs were so strong that he could empty a whole pond of frogs with one "holler".

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Tall Tale

Pecos had one true love, Slue-foot Sue. She was his first wife - and she could ride almost as good as Bill himself.

Bill first saw Slue-foot Sue ridin' a catfish down the Rio Grande. She was riding standing up and holdin' on with only one hand sose she could take pot-shots at the clouds with her six-shooter.

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Fairy Tale

Tall Tale

On one fine summer's day in a field a Grasshopper was hopping about in a musical mood. An ant passed by bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.

The grasshopper invited the ant to sit for a chat with him. But the ant refused saying that "I’m storing up food for winter". " Why don’t you do the same?" asked the ant to the grasshopper.

"Pooh! Why bother about winter?" said the Grasshopper; we have got enough food at present." But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil.

Finally, when winter came, the Grasshopper found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing corn and grain from their storage.

Then the Grasshopper understood that…

It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.

Fable

Fairy Tale

Tall Tale

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful stream that flowed by a stony hill. A small village stood by this stream and the people of this hamlet used its water for their daily needs.

One day, two women started to gossip and forgetful of their belongings, both of them left their pots by the stream. One of the pots was of brass, another of earthenware.

When the tide rose, the swollen waters carried off both the pots downstream. The earthenware pot struggled to keep itself away from the brass one. Seeing this, the brass pot called out to the earten pot:

"Why are you afraid, my friend? I will not strike you."

The earthen pot replied, "That is allright. But if I come too close to you, I will break. You are too tough and I am so weak.

Whether I hit you, or you hit me, I shall be the one to suffer for it."

The strong and the weak cannot keep company.

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Fairy Tale

Tall Tale

Once upon a time there lived in a certain village a little country girl, the prettiest creature who was ever seen. Her mother was excessively fond of her; and her grandmother doted on her still more. This good woman had a little red riding hood made for her. It suited the girl so extremely well that everybody called her Little Red Riding Hood. One day her mother, having made some cakes, said to her, "Go, my dear, and see how your grandmother is doing, for I hear she has been very ill. Take her a cake, and this little pot of butter."

Little Red Riding Hood set out immediately to go to her grandmother, who lived in another village.

As she was going through the wood, she met with a wolf, who had a very great mind to eat her up, but he dared not, because of some woodcutters working nearby in the forest. He asked her where she was going. The poor child, who did not know that it was dangerous to stay and talk to a wolf, said to him, "I am going to see my grandmother and carry her a cake and a little pot of butter from my mother."

"Does she live far off?" said the wolf

Fable

Fairy Tale

Tall Tale