folk tale
Orally transmitted narrative
A folk tale is a traditional story passed down orally through generations, typically featuring simple characters, magical elements, and moral lessons.
Folk tales include fairy tales, fables, and legends.
Unlike myths, they don't claim to explain cosmic truths—they entertain and instruct: Cinderella is perhaps the world's most widely distributed folk tale.
Account of events
- yarnTwisted strand for crafts
- fableMoral tale with animals
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
parable · saga · epic · bedtime story · nursery rhyme · anecdote · chronicle · adventure
Culture passed by speech
- loreTraditional knowledge transmitted orally
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- traditionsLong-established customs passed down
storytelling · bard · griot · minstrel · storyteller · passing down · elders · village
Supernatural or illusory power
- transformationThorough change in form
- questSeeking journey for something
- journeyTravel from place to place
- three wishesFolklore's granted requests
enchantment · curse · spell · impossible task · forbidden · test · riddle · prophecy
story
Account of events
myth · parable · saga · epic · bedtime story · nursery rhyme · anecdote · chronicle · adventure · fantasy
oral tradition
Culture passed by speech
- loreTraditional knowledge transmitted orally
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
traditions · storytelling · bard · griot · minstrel · storyteller · passing down · elders · village · community
magic
Supernatural or illusory power
- transformationThorough change in form
- questSeeking journey for something
- journeyTravel from place to place
three wishes · enchantment · curse · spell · impossible task · forbidden · test · riddle · prophecy · disguise
trickster
Cunning deceiver in myth
giant · fairy · dragon · spirit · animal · wise elder · enchantress · ogre · goblin · shapeshifter
lesson
Unit of teaching
- wisdomGood judgment from experience
- cautionaryServing as warning
- teachingProfession of instructing others
virtue · consequence · justice · honesty · goodness · proverb · guidance · didactic · edifying · warning
- folklorefairy tales, fairytales, folktales, legends, legend
- myth & legendquest, hero journey, dragon slaying, treasure hunt, epic voyage
- mythsmyth, legend, fable, creation myth, origin story
- folk artstribal art, Celtic knotwork, Navajo weaving, Amish quilts, hula
- moral talesfable, parable, moral stories, allegory, moral fables
- story typesmyth, fable, fables, legend, drama
folk taleliterary fiction
Prose emphasizing craft and depth
novel · belles-lettres · manuscript · literary classic · scholarly text
folk talemodern novel
Fiction from recent eras
contemporary fiction · original composition · debut novel · commissioned work
folk talehistorical account
Record of past events
nonfiction · documentary · journalism · chronicle · historical record