Folktales

Types of Folktales:

Fairy Tales, Tall Tales, Fables, Legends, and

Myths

Why do we have these?

Storytelling is found in every culture. These stories help
people understand the world around them. Other things
these stories do are
� Keep the past alive.
�Teach lessons about human behavior.
� Reveal the values of society.

Fill in the Blank

Why do we have these? State two reasons.

What is a FOLKTALE?

� A folktale is a story set in

the past that has been told
from generation to
generation.

Multiple Choice

True or False- MOST Folktales are set in the past.

• False

• True

Types of Folktales

Fairy Tale

Examples

� A folktale that takes place

in a magical land ruled by
royalty; the characters are
either good or evil and it
almost always has a happy
ending.

� Cinderella, Snow White,

Beauty and the Beast

Types of Folktales

Fable

Examples

� A very short folktale

where the characters are
usually personified
animals; it always teaches a
moral or lesson.

� Aesop’s Fables, The

Tortoise and the Hare,
The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Match

Match the following

• Fairytale

• Fable

• Folktale

Takes place in a magical land, ruled by royalty.

Very short, characters are personified.

Story that has been told from generation to generation.

• Takes place in a magical land, ruled by royalty.

• Very short, characters are personified.

• Story that has been told from generation to generation.

Types of Folktales

Tall Tale

Examples

� A folktale with

unbelievable exaggerations
told as if it were true and
meant to be humorous.

� Pecos Bill, Johnny

Appleseed, Paul Bunyan

Types of Folktales

Legend

Examples

� A folktale that usually has

some connection to a real
historical person or event,
combining factual and
fictional events with
exaggerations that are not
meant to be humorous.
Legends reveal the values of
their time period and
culture.

� King Arthur (The Sword in

the Stone, Knights of the
Round Table), Robin Hood

Types of Folktales

Myth

Examples

� A folktale that explains

something about the
world such as
frightening/mysterious
natural forces or how
something came to be.

� Zeus, Medusa, The Midas

Touch

Match

Match the following

• Tall Tale

• Legend

• Myth

Unbelievable exaggerations meant to be funny.

Some connection to a real historical person or event combines both fact and fiction.

Explains something about the world such as natural forces or how something came to be.

• Unbelievable exaggerations meant to be funny.

• Some connection to a real historical person or event combines both fact and fiction.

• Explains something about the world such as natural forces or how something came to be.

Multiple Choice

Elizabeth (Betsy) Ross was a seamstress who lived and worked in Philadelphia in the 1770s. George Washington was a frequent customer, as she took care of monogramming his shirts and sewing ruffles on cuffs and collars. One day General Washington appeared at her door with his friend Robert Morris. They had a diagram of a flag that included strips and six pointed stars. Adding her own interpretation of the design, Mrs. Ross created the very first American flag.  

• Fairy Tale

• Tall Tale

• Fable

• Myth

• Legend

Multiple Choice

A black raven was very jealous of a beautiful white swan, and he asked the swan what she did to be so beautiful. The swan replied, “I live here on the water and I eat grass that grows near the shore.” The raven decided he, too, could become a swan, and tried to swim in the water, but he almost drowned. He tried to eat the grass, but found it made him sick. Finally, he gave up and returned to the forest. The moral? A change of habits cannot change one’s nature.

• Fairy Tale

• Tall Tale

• Myth

• Fable

• Legend

Multiple Choice

Quite by accident, a fox found himself trapped in a shallow well. The water was not deep, but the walls were slippery and he could not get out. A goat wandered by and the fox called to him. “Goat! Oh Goat! Aren’t you thirsty goat?” The goat went to the edge of the well and looked in. “I am thirsty. Is the water any good?” The fox replied, “Good? It is the best water in the land!” The goat leapt into the well and began to drink. Quick as a flash, the fox jumped on his back and out of the well. “Hey! The goat called after him. How can I get out of here?” But the fox had already run away. Look before you leap!

• Fairy Tale

• Tall Tale

• Myth

• Fable

• Legend

Multiple Choice

Davy Crockett was married to a lady named Sally Ann Thunder. Sally Ann talked so fast that people would have to ride a mile ahead of her to figure out what she said. When ladies started to wear their hair up in a style that looked like a bee-hive, Sally Ann saved time and just popped a real beehive on her head, bees and all!

• Fairy Tale

• Tall Tale

• Myth

• Fable

• Legend

Multiple Choice

The mortal Arachne claimed that she could weave finer cloth than even the gods. The goddess Athena heard of her boast, and disguising herself as a mortal, challenged Arachne to a weaving contest. Day and night, the two wove, until finally both had finished their tapestries. When they presented them to the gods to judge, all agreed that the mortal, Arachne, had indeed woven the finest tapestry. Athena was furious and turned Arachne into a spider. For all eternity, Arachne and her children and her children's children continue to weave, and their finely made webs can be seen everywhere on earth.

• Fairy Tale

• Tall Tale

• Myth

• Fable

• Legend

Multiple Choice

The mortal Arachne claimed that she could weave finer cloth than even the gods. The goddess Athena heard of her boast, and disguising herself as a mortal, challenged Arachne to a weaving contest. Day and night, the two wove, until finally both had finished their tapestries. When they presented them to the gods to judge, all agreed that the mortal, Arachne, had indeed woven the finest tapestry. Athena was furious and turned Arachne into a spider. For all eternity, Arachne and her children and her children's children continue to weave, and their finely made webs can be seen everywhere on earth.

• Fairy Tale

• Tall Tale

• Myth

• Fable

• Legend

Multiple Choice

Once there was a group of seven brothers who all worked as lumberjacks. They were all named Elmer so if someone hollered to one of them, all seven would show up. They were the strongest men that lived, and they carried the biggest axes ever made. Each brother was over six feet tall sitting down and weighed at least 300 pounds when they were five years old. One winter, the seven brothers decided to let their beards grow to help keep them warm. Their beards grew so long that they were able to wrap them around their ears and throat for warmth. When they finally cut them, they needed a long scythe, and the whiskers were bailed like hay to be disposed of.

• Fairy Tale

• Tall Tale

• Myth

• Fable

• Legend

Multiple Choice

One stormy night, Benjamin Franklin's wife, Deborah, was awakened by the sound of thunder. Frightened, she looked for her husband, but could not find him. Just then, a flash of lightning lit up the field outside the bedroom window. She looked out and saw Ben flying a kite! Deborah threw on her robe and rushed outside into the pouring rain. Just as she was nearing Ben, a bolt of lightning flashed from the sky directly into something hanging on the kite string. Ben was knocked to the ground. Deborah ran to him and found him gripping a key. "Electricity!" Ben proclaimed. "It's electricity!"

• Fairy Tale

• Tall Tale

• Myth

• Fable

• Legend

Multiple Choice

Once there was a group of seven brothers who all worked as lumberjacks. They were all named Elmer so if someone hollered to one of them, all seven would show up. They were the strongest men that lived, and they carried the biggest axes ever made. Each brother was over six feet tall sitting down and weighed at leas 300 pounds when they were five years old. One winter, the seven brothers decided to let their beards grow to help keep them warm. Their beards grew so long that they were able to wrap them around their ears and throats for warmth. When they finally cut them, they needed a long scythe, and the whiskers were bailed like hay to be disposed of.

• Fairy Tale

• Tall Tale

• Myth

• Fable

• Legend

Multiple Choice

Once upon a time, a beautiful princess was forced to flee from an evil witch. Seeing how difficult it was for the princess to hide, a kind fairy gave her a magical piece of wood. When the princess put the piece of wood in her mouth, she was transformed into a bear. The princess lived as a bear in the forest for two summers. One day, a handsome prince came upon her, and delighted by how friendly she was as a bear, he took her home to be his pet. One day, she removed the piece of wood from her mouth, as she often did, so that she could clean her teeth. The prince happened to be at the window and suddenly spied a beautiful maiden in the courtyard. He rushed outside, but by the time he arrived, the princess was again a bear. The prince grew sick with love for the maiden as he could not find her anywhere. As a bear, the princess tried to comfort him, and one day the prince kissed her paw. The princess was so surprised, the piece of wood fell from her mouth. The prince realized she was the maiden. They were immediately married and lived happily ever after.

• Fairy Tale

• Tall Tale

• Myth

• Fable

• Legend

Multiple Choice

In ancient times the sister of a king gave birth to twin boys. Her brother did not want any competition for his throne, and ordered that they be put to death. The twins were abandoned beside a river and left to die. Luckily for them, a wolf that was passing by saw them and decided to take them back to her den. She raised the twins as her own pups and they grew into healthy and strong young boys.

One day a shepherd found them chasing his sheep. He decided to take the boys back home to his wife. The shepherd and his wife named the boys Romulus and Remus and raised the twins as their own sons.

Soon, the young boys were young men. They were the strongest, smartest, and most popular men in their village—natural born leaders. Not content to lead a small village, they decided to go back to the spot where the mother wolf originally found them and create a huge city to rule over. However, they could not agree which brother the city should be named after and began to fight. Poor Remus was killed during the argument, so Romulus declared that the city would be all his and proclaimed himself king.

This was the foundation of the city we now know as Rome.

• Fairy Tale

• Tall Tale

• Myth

• Fable

• Legend

Multiple Choice

After watching the folktale, what is the moral lesson in the folktale?

• The tortoise and the hare

• The early bird gets the worm

• Slow and steady wins the race

• Fable

• Cocomelon is awesome!