folk tales
Passed-down narratives
Folk tales are traditional stories passed down orally through generations within a culture.
They typically feature common people, animals, or supernatural beings and convey moral lessons or cultural values.
Unlike myths, folk tales don't usually explain cosmic origins or involve gods: Cinderella is perhaps the world's most widely distributed folk tale.
The genre includes fairy tales, fables, and legends.
Account of events
- oral traditionCulture passed by speech
- storytellingRecounting events aloud
- yarnTwisted strand for crafts
- firesideArea beside the hearth
bedtime stories · campfire · recitation · bard · griot · raconteur · narrator · chronicle
Mythical fire-breathing reptiles
- giantsBeings of immense stature
- witchesPractitioners of dark magic
- fairiesTiny mythical winged creatures
- trollsDeliberate online agitators
goblins · ogres · talking animals · trickster · shapeshifter · spirit · ghost · demon
Moral tale with animals
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
- parableInstructive allegorical narrative
- epicImpressively grand in scope
saga · creation story · hero journey · origin story · frame story
Inherited cultural legacy
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- cultureCollective social practices
- ancestryFamily line of descent
- oral historyRecorded interviews about the past
ethnography · regional · indigenous · tribal · village · community · collective memory · cultural identity
German folklorists, sibling scholars
- AesopAncient Greek fable writer
- Arabian NightsMedieval Middle Eastern folklore anthology
- One Thousand and One NightsClassic frame-tale collection
Concerning right conduct
- lessonUnit of teaching
- wisdomGood judgment from experience
- virtueMoral goodness or merit
- justiceFair treatment under law
trickery · transformation · quest · forbidden · punishment · reward · cleverness · greed
narrative
Account of events
- oral traditionCulture passed by speech
- storytellingRecounting events aloud
- yarnTwisted strand for crafts
fireside · bedtime stories · campfire · recitation · bard · griot · raconteur · narrator · chronicle · anecdote
dragons
Mythical fire-breathing reptiles
- giantsBeings of immense stature
- witchesPractitioners of dark magic
- fairiesTiny mythical winged creatures
trolls · goblins · ogres · talking animals · trickster · shapeshifter · spirit · ghost · demon · enchantress
fable
Moral tale with animals
- legendUnverified traditional tale
- mythTraditional explanatory tale
- parableInstructive allegorical narrative
epic · saga · creation story · hero journey · origin story · frame story
heritage
Inherited cultural legacy
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- cultureCollective social practices
- ancestryFamily line of descent
oral history · ethnography · regional · indigenous · tribal · village · community · collective memory · cultural identity · preservation
Brothers Grimm
German folklorists, sibling scholars
- AesopAncient Greek fable writer
- Arabian NightsMedieval Middle Eastern folklore anthology
- One Thousand and One NightsClassic frame-tale collection
moral
Concerning right conduct
justice · trickery · transformation · quest · forbidden · punishment · reward · cleverness · greed · kindness
- storytellingstorytelling, story, narrative, narrator, storyteller
- cultural heritagetraditions, customs, museum collections, museums, language revival
- folk activitiesstorytelling, ballads, square dancing, line dancing, barn dance
- folk collectionsproverbs, legends, myths, fairy tales, nursery rhymes
- heritage taleslegends, myths, fables, origin stories, creation myths
- Local Folkloremyths, legends, urban legends, ghost stories, tall tales
folk taleshistorical records
Preserved accounts of the past
chronicles · journalism · eyewitness testimony · historical documents · nonfiction
folk talesliterary fiction
Prose emphasizing craft and depth
novels · original compositions · belles-lettres · modernist literature · experimental fiction