10 Examples of Folk tale

A folk tale is a relatively short fictional story, passed down orally. It has no defined author, as it constitutes the collective heritage of communities, but there were writers, such as the Brothers Grimm, who compiled these stories in anthologies. For example:“Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.”

Regarding the content of the folk tale , its story begins with a conflict that develops in the form of an intrigue and reaches a surprising conclusion. The adventures narrated transcend time and space. This content does not usually have a particular style ( ornatus ) or use embellishments, because it lacks an aesthetic intention. Its characters do not possess their own individual psychological entity; rather, they form archetypes that develop the action proposed by the plot.

• See also: Types of stories

Types of folk tales

There are different types of folk tales that can be grouped into this classification:

• Fairy tale. Also called “fairy tales” or “enchantment tales,” this type of folk tale involves the narration of fantastic events, often featuring marvelous elements, such as a magical object. These elements will be key in helping the hero overcome the trials and difficulties they face, as well as testing their courage and cunning. Its characters include supernatural beings such as fairies, ogres, witches, goblins, and giants. For example:“Cinderella”, “Snow White”.
• Rural customs tale. Unlike fairy tales, this type of folk tale lacks extraordinary elements, either fantastic or beyond realistic truth. Its plot often contains elements of satire and humor, set within historical and social circumstances, which it seeks to criticize. It reflects the ways of life of agrarian societies, whose customs can be both archaic and modern, and each of these derives from a particular mode of production and the social institutions that govern them. The confrontation between one type of custom and another constitutes the driving force behind the plot of the folk tale. For example: “The nougat house”, “The basil bush”.
• Animal tale. This type of folk tale features talking animals as protagonists. While people may appear in animal tales, these are occasional and secondary characters. These animals’ behavior reflects the human condition, both in their behavior and physical qualities, such as the cunning of the fox, the wickedness of the wolf, and the stubbornness of the donkey. Animal tales differ from the first two categories, as they either imitate or contradict them. Their narrative structure presents two elements: hunger (in which the only law is eat or be eaten) and humor, often scatological. For example:“The Three Little Goats”, “A Good Day for the Wolf’s Food”.

Characteristics of the folk tale

These are the most important characteristics of folk tales:

• Orality. A folk tale is a story passed down orally, from generation to generation and from town to town, so it’s likely to have more than one current version due to the addition or deletion of certain elements to its plot.
• Universality. Folk tales contain universal themes that transcend the boundaries of a given community, such as maturity and social recognition, among others.
• Brevity. The folk tale is relatively short, so it can be told in a single act.
• Authorship. The folk tale has no specific author, but rather is passed down through generations of people who have passed it on to their families, neighbors, and friends.
• Ending with a moral. The folk tale has a didactic intention and a moralistic purpose.
• Symbolic dimension. Folk tales are filled with symbolism that serves to educate children within an inherited culture.
• Rigid linear structure. The folk tale presents events in an unalterable order, usually as follows, with some adjustments depending on the type of tale:
• Presentation of the initial conflict.
• The hero’s encounter with conflict.
• One-way trip.
• A demonstration of generosity, courage or cunning of the hero.
• Appearance of the magic object.
• Battle between the hero and the aggressor.
• Submission of the hero to three tests.
• Journey back.
• Recognition of the hero as such.
• Marriage of the hero (or heroine).

Examples of folk tales

1. Example of a wonderful folk tale: “Cinderella”

Cinderella is a young orphan who lives with her stepmother and her two daughters, who, since the death of their father, treat her with contempt and force her to do housework. When the prince organizes a ball to find a wife, her stepmother prevents her from attending. While she cries inconsolably, her fairy godmother appears and transforms her into a princess and provides her with a carriage to transport her to the castle, but warns her that the spell will end at midnight, and she must return before then. When the prince sees her, he immediately falls in love, and they dance all night until, at the stroke of midnight, Cinderella runs away, remembering her fairy godmother’s warning. In her flight, she loses her glass slipper. To find “his future princess” again, the prince will try the slipper on all the young women in the kingdom. And, despite Cinderella’s stepmother’s attempts to hide her, the young woman ends up trying it and reuniting with her love, whom she ends up marrying.

2. Example of a wonderful folk tale: “Little Red Riding Hood”

A little girl named Little Red Riding Hood is sent by her mother to visit her very ill grandmother to bring her a basket of food. Along the way, she meets the Big Bad Wolf, who suggests they race to the old woman’s house. To do so, he warns Little Red Riding Hood that there are two possible paths: one long and one short. The girl, tricked by the Wolf, takes the longer path, so he arrives first and devours the grandmother in one bite. When Little Red Riding Hood finally arrives, the Big Bad Wolf finds him disguised as her grandmother, and she, puzzled by his physical changes, points out his arms, legs, eyes, and large teeth.

3. Example of a wonderful folk tale: “Juan Sin Miedo”

Juan lived in a small village with his father and older brother. His father lamented that his youngest son couldn’t do anything and didn’t know how to do any job. So, once, he asked him what he wanted to do, to which the young man replied that he wanted to feel fear and know what it meant to tremble. So he began his adventure in search of fear, and when he reached a mill, he found a sexton with whom he struck up a conversation, introducing himself as Juan Sin Miedo. The sexton told him that, farther across the valley, there was a castle enchanted by an evil wizard. The ruling monarch offered the hand of his daughter Esmeralda to the boy who managed to recover the castle and the treasure housed there. All those who had tried had fled, frightened by the specters and ghosts that haunted the place at night. And Juan headed there and succeeded: the first night, he faced a ghost; the second, a ghost; and the third, a mummy. None of these monsters frightened him. The magician gave up and returned the castle and its treasure; and the king married him to Esmeralda. Some time later, while Juan was sleeping, his beloved approached him with a bowl full of fish. He stumbled and spilled the cold liquid on his face, causing Juan to wake up frightened and trembling, finally knowing what it was like to feel fear.

4. Example of a wonderful folk tale: “The Three Spinners”

A very lazy girl refused to learn to spin, so her mother scolded her for not helping out. One day, the queen passed by her home and, seeing the scene where her mother was scolding her, wanted to know what was going on. The queen replied that the young woman wanted to spin all day, but she didn’t have the money for so much flax. Excited, the queen invited the girl to the castle to spin all the flax there, and if she succeeded, she could marry her son, the prince. The lazy girl was completely dejected by the request when she was greeted by three old women: one with a swollen finger, another with a drooping lip, and another with a giant foot. The three spinners promised to help her if she later invited them to her wedding. She promised, and they set to work. When the wedding day arrived, the prince, upon receiving the three old women, asked them why they looked the way they did, and they replied that their swollen finger was from twisting the thread, their droopy lip from licking it, and their enormous foot from stepping on it. Fearing that his princess would become as ugly as those old women, he forbade her from spinning forever.

5. Example of a folk tale: “The King of Tibotú’s Hat”

The king and queen of Tibotú had three children: Chapachapa, Chopochopo, and Chipichipi. This king used to wear a very tall top hat that reached the ceiling. The royal family lived very happily for many years until one night, the king ate an entire suckling pig and, a few hours later, died. After nine minutes and nine seconds, his family opened the will to see what the king had left to each of its members. They discovered that the city of Tibotú passed to his wife Sabihonda, the two islands of the kingdom were left to his two eldest sons, and the top hat to his youngest son. The latter, overcome with fury, threw the garment to the floor and kicked it. As he did so, he felt a sharp pain in his foot, as if he had hit a rock. Even more enraged, he began to tear the hat to pieces, but soon found, between the lining and the crown, something as hard as a stone, larger than a hen’s egg: it was nothing less than a large ruby. The discovery caused such a sensation that everyone in the kingdom fought over its possession. A famous millionaire ended up paying a huge sum, which Chipichipi invested and lived the high life.

6. Example of a folk tale: “The Priest’s Soul”

Shortly after their son was born, a married couple decided to discover his destiny, so they consulted a fortune teller, who told them that he would live happily until the age of twenty-one, when, for some reason unspecified, he would be hanged. The boy lived very happily until a few days before reaching that age, he found his parents crying, and they told them about the fortune teller’s prophecy. Their son told them not to worry, that he would travel the world, and that when he returned, they would see that he was still alive. Before leaving, his mother gave him a prayer book and told him to go and listen to mass in every town he visited so that God would protect him. And so he did. He arrived at an inn and asked the innkeeper when the next mass was, and the innkeeper told him that, since the next day was the Day of the Dead, the first mass would be at midnight, but that no one came to it. Remembering his promise to his parents, the boy went anyway, and at twelve o’clock he saw a slab rise in the center of the church and a priest emerge. After the mysterious mass, the priest told the boy that he had been a lost soul until he had appeared at his mass, and that he would help him with anything he needed until the end of his days. On the way to the next town, he faced off against some thieves, who were about to kill him, when the image of the priest appeared and gave him a horse to flee the place. And so he did: he went to his family, who had already thought him dead, and upon seeing him alive, they embraced him with joy.

7. Example of a folk tale: “The Basil Bush”

A poor shoemaker had three daughters who took turns watering a basil plant in his garden every day. One day, the king’s son came by and asked the eldest daughter how many leaves the plant had, and she didn’t know what to say. The next day, the same thing happened to the middle sister. On the third day, while the youngest daughter was watering, the prince appeared and, after asking her the same question, the girl replied: “Do you know how many stars live in the sky?” The prince didn’t know what to answer, and, angry with the girl’s wisdom, when he returned to the castle, he disguised himself as a clothes seller and decided to go to the three sisters’ house to offer them lace. After choosing one she liked, she asked the disguised prince how much it cost, and he replied, a kiss. And he gave it to her.

8. Example of a popular animal tale: “The Ugly Duckling”

A duck had had several ducklings, all very pretty, except for one who was ugly, clumsy, and awkward; so his brothers made fun of him and rejected him. One day, the ugly duckling decided to run away and faced the harsh winter that was soon approaching alone and sad. When spring arrived, he met a group of swans who were very kind to him. Surprised, he asked them why they were so kind, and they invited him to see his reflection in the lake and thus discover how he had become a beautiful swan and left behind the figure of the helpless duckling.

9. Example of a popular animal tale: “The Conceited Little Mouse”

A little mouse was sweeping the sidewalk when, suddenly, she saw a gold coin on the ground. With it, she decided to buy a red ribbon, and after putting it on her head, suitors began to appear seeking to marry her because she was truly beautiful. The donkey, the pig, the lion, and the fox visited her, but she rejected them all. Suddenly, a beautiful and elegant cat in a suit appeared and declared his love for her. And she accepted him because the cat had been very polite. The little mouse, very happy and in love, approached him to give him a hug, and he, not missing the opportunity to get a good bite, threw himself at her to catch her. Thanks to the speed of the boastful little mouse, who jumped quickly and ran away, she managed to avoid being caught by the evil cat.

10. Example of a popular animal tale: “The Wolf and the Seven Goats”

In the forest, there was a small house where seven goats lived with their mother. One day, the goat went shopping in town and asked her children not to open the door to anyone. When the wolf saw the mother goat leave, he knocked on the door and, trying to pass himself off as her, asked the goats to open it. They realized it was the wolf, and they refused. But after several attempts by the wolf to convince them, he finally succeeded, and the goats, seeing that it was the wolf, ran away, scattering throughout the house. Soon, the wolf began to find them and devour them one by one. He didn’t find the seventh, but, satisfied, he went to rest in a meadow until he fell asleep. When the goat returned, the little one told her what had happened, and she went in search of the predator and, with scissors, cut open its belly and rescued all her children who were still alive.