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Everyone knows that a fairy tale is a story intended for children, often involving some fanciful creature or extraordinary adventure. Contemporary fairy tales often have a moral or ethical undercurrent to the story, a "lesson" to be learned. A technical definition of fairy tales from yourDictionary.com says that they are a "fanciful tale of legendary deeds and creatures, usually intended for children."

Although in today's modern society, fairy tales often are told to children and might include a moralistic stance or warning against dangers, they began as chiefly oral stories passed from generation to generation. Adults often original stories that may have been gruesome or include sexual references. For example, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (also known as The Brothers Grimm) wrote down German fairy tales in their original adult versions in the 1800s, only to later revise them to be more acceptable for children. Read 12 tales in a translated 1914 original version at on the National Geographic website,.

Fairy tales are found in almost every culture and region of the world. For example, Japan, Russia, Sweden, Great Britain, and Germany have their own tales. Although the tones and plot may vary, they include the same universal elements that are described in the definition from yourDictionary.

Elements of a Fairy Tale

Understanding a fairy tale involves knowing more than the definition. Let's break down the definition into each separate elemental concept in order to fully grasp it.

"A fanciful tale" is the first part of a fairy tale's definition. According to yourDictionary, fanciful relates to being unreal and in the imagination. Therefore, a fairy tale would be considered a fictional piece of work. It may have similarities to reality, but is a made-up story. Stories about King Arthur, his Knights of the Round Table, and Merlin the Magician may sound real, but they are works of fiction.

Fairy tales often include "legendary deeds." A legendary deed is an act, most often performed by the hero, which becomes famous or well known. The act of pulling the sword out of the stone by King Arthur is considered a legendary deed. The fairy tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs includes a legendary deed performed by two people: one by the wicked stepmother, who poisons Snow White (which also serves to teach children not to trust strangers) and that of the prince who awakens Snow White with a kiss.

Despite being called "fairy" tales, these stories frequently do not have the creature called a fairy in them. Instead, a fairy tale often has dragons, elves, gnomes, trolls, giants, witches, or other imaginary animals or people. For example, the Three Billy Goats Gruff tale includes talking goats and a troll underneath a bridge they must cross. Jack and the Beanstalk includes a giant from whom Jack must escape. Of course, there are still fairy tales that do include fairies, like Cinderella (fairy godmother) and Sleeping Beauty (three good fairies and one evil fairy).

The fact that fairy tales are meant for children is something that has not always been true. Orators often told their tales to adult audiences early in time. As mentioned earlier, the nature of a number of stories were adult in nature. Original versions of Rapunzel included the fact she became pregnant by the Prince while she was imprisoned in the tower.

More Information on Fairy Tales

A fairy tale can be an entertaining bedtime story for youngsters or an interesting historical literary study for adults. Regardless of your age, a fairy tale is sure to delight your fancies.

To get more information on various fairy tales, visit your local library. You can also check out the following links:

• SurLaLune Fairy Tales: This site includes helpful articles about historical aspects of fairy tales, annotated stories, and a message board with forums for discussion.
• Fairy Tale Bibliography: Compiled by a professor at Northern State University, this website lists helpful books in several categories: useful compilations, classical literary tales, modern revisionist tales, and fairy tale criticisms.
• Folklinks: This site is a listing of fairy tale websites compiled by the helpful folks at Google.com.

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