Fairy Tales: Home

"A fairy tale is a kind of short folktale narrative typically of European origin. Most fairy tales contain folkloric fantasy characters such as elves, mermaids, trolls, giants, goblins, witches, and more, as well as magical elements. What makes fairy tales distinguishable from other folk narratives is that unlike animal fables, fairy tales do not serve as overt morality tales, and they are not usually based on some historical event or character, such as embellished legends of heroic deeds and great battles. Fairy tales are also different from myths, which characteristically find their basis in religion and a need to explain how the natural world works."

"The recent resurgence in fairy-tale based media, such as movies (Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty), TV shows (Once Upon a Time, Grimm), literature (Kelly Link, Neil Gaiman, Bill Willingham, and others), and games (The Path) makes it clear that these stories have deep resonance in our culture. But what is it about them that drives us to them, over and over again, when we are being bombarded with so many new kinds of stories all the time? ... "

"Like folklore, mythology, fables, tall tales, and other classic stories that have been handed down, fairy stories are part of the oral tradition of literature. What makes the fairy tale different from the others is its use of magic and fantasy ... "

Click through a series of slides which look at: the birth of a genre, a marvelous universe (the setting), in the heart of the family (characters), the ordeal (plot), and in everyday life.

"Most fairy tales begin with 'once upon a time' or 'a long time ago', and end with telling the reader that the characters 'lived happily ever after' ... "

SurLaLune Fairy Tales features 49 annotated fairy tales, including their histories, similar tales across cultures, modern interpretations and illustrations. Also discover over 5,000 folktales & fairy tales from around the world in the SurLaLune Folklore Database.

" ... The tales are about children and families and how they reacted to the difficult conditions under which they lived. The Grimms thought the stories and their morals emanated naturally from the German people in an oral tradition, and they wanted to preserve them before the tales were lost forever ... "

"Emerging from an oral storytelling tradition, written, literary fairy tales first appeared just over three centuries ago. Originally intended for adults, the genre gradually evolved into a major elements of children’s literature ... "

"The first Australian fairy tales were inspired by European stories transplanted to the bush, to familiarise colonists’ children with their new environment ... "

"Most of us grew up reading fairy tales adapted from the European tradition: stories of kings, queens and princesses set in palaces and forests, such as Cinderella, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast. But what about the history of Australian fairy tales? ... "

"Tiddalik is a small mischievous and very thirsty frog who appears in one of Australia’s best known Creation Stories. It’s the story of a frog whose greed results in all of the water in the creeks, lakes and rivers being depleted, resulting in the other animals working together to see it returned ... "

Read through the various dreamtime stories.