Fables, Legends, Myths and Tales

This school year we will be reading a selection of legends, folktales,

fairy tales and myths.

Before we begin we need to learn some

vocabulary words and ideas.

They are all types of stories

Fables Legends MythsFolk TalesFairy Tales

What is the differencebetween them all?

Fables Legends Myths

Folk TalesFairy Tales

Peple lve stries.

Stories

Parents often read or tell their children stories that were told to them when they were children.

Stories

Or read to them by a teacher at school

Throughout history, stories have always been told.

It began with speaking them-the oral tradition.

Or just telling them to each other

Throughout history, stories have always been told.

It began with speaking them…

A Long, long time ago….

The oral tradition = telling stories

The oral tradition = telling stories

Stories have been told by people

Everywhere

Stories are told through books

Stories are told through theater

Pictures also tell stories

and through pictures: these are cave paintings

These are cave drawings from prehistoric man

And pictures…

Darn kids and their graffiti!

Andthroughsinging

Many stories are passed down through songs

Throughout history, stories have always been told.

Sometimes they are written down

Aesop was an ancient Greek slave who wrote fables

Some were just told

The oral tradition = telling stories

Passed down from generation to

generation

GENERATION TO GENERATION

Homework: Ask a member of your family to tell you a story that was told to them as a young child. Make sure you listen careful, because you will have to remember it for tomorrow.

Until very recently,

people didn’t have

television, movies, and

books

They told stories instead.

All cultures have stories.

They are called myths, folk tales, fairy tales, legends, and fables.

Sometimes stories are told from generation-to-generation and the stories change in the telling. Let’s play a game to help us understand

how this happens.

Play the Telephone Tag Game

Everybody get into a circle…

• Teacher will give a student a paragraph that is a story, tale, myth, etc.

• First person begins by reading it and then whispering the paragraph into ear of the student next to him/her. (that student must keep eyes closed)

• Student that is read to, must repeat as much as possible to the person next to them.

• Keep repeating until last person.

• Last person repeats what was heard.

• A student reads original paragraph.

After story…

What just happened?

What is the difference between:

• Myths

• Legends

• Folk tales

• Fairy Tales

• Fables

They are all similar. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell which is which

• Myths

• Legends

• Folk tales

• Fairy Tales

• Fables

Which is which?

Legends

• A story in the past about a historical person.

• Passed down through generations

• Originally not written down

• Involves heroes

Two examples of legendsGuess who they are?

Which one was a real person?

Heracles/Hercules Robin Hood

Both are believed by historians to have been actual men, however, as typical in legends, the

stories became exaggerated and changed.

That is what legends are.

Heracles/Hercules Robin Hood

Like… Count Dracula

Comes from a real character like Vlad the Impaler the Prince of

Wallachia in Hungary.

I’m not going to tell you what HE did to his victims. It’s horrible! You will have

to look that one up yourself.

It is a perfect example of a legend. First their was a real man who was

known to do terrible things. And then his story turned him into a monster,

like Count Dracula, a vampire.

We are going to read a legend.

The Cherokee Indians

Were a native American Tribe that lived in the southern part of what is now the USA, before the Europeans came.

Storytelling was very important to the Cherokee

Yonder Mountain: A Cherokee Legend

• Pg 57 of your Literature Pack

Myth•Usually involves Gods or Goddesses•Started with the Ancient Greeks•Attempts to explain the mysteries of the world•Often includes supernatural powers

Some Myths…

Some Myths…

Trojan Horse The Sphinx- Egypt

Poseidon (Greek) or Neptune (Roman)

God of the SeaPandora’s Box

Eros or Cupid

(love)

Fable

A fable is a very brief story in prose

or in verse that teaches a moral or

a practical lesson about how to

succeed in life.

Fables

• Is usually short and to the point

• Often has a character that plays tricks on others

Fables

• Usually about animals

• Has a moral to share

The Fox and the GoatOne day, a fox fell down

a well. He tried to climb

out, but the well was too

deep. A goat wandered

by. He peered down

curiously. “What are you

doing in a well?” asked

the goat.

“I’m warning you, goat,” snarled the fox.

“This is my water! Go away.”

“You can’t keep all the water for yourself,”

the goat snorted. The goat jumped in the

well.

The fox jumped on

the goat’s back and

leaped out of the

well. He ran off

without a care for

the goat who was

stuck in the well.

Fables

• Is usually short and to the point

• Often has a character that plays tricks on others

• Usually about animals

• Has a moral to share

MORAL: think-pair-share

In pairs, think about what a “moral” of the story

is. Write down your own definition. Then

write down reasons for why you think why

people like stories that have morals in them.

The MORAL of

The Fox and the Goat is:

Don’t always believe what you hear from

someone in trouble.

or

Look before you leap.

More examples of Fables

What’s the moral of the Tortoise and the Hare?

Some examples of Fables

Slow and steady wins the race

Fable: The Ant and the Grasshopper

What’s the moral of the Ant and the Grasshopper?

• Be responsible for yourself

• There is a time for work and a time for play

• Don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do today

• It is best to plan for the days of necessity

THESE ARE SOME POSSIBLE MORALS

Folk Tale

A traditional tale from a group of people. Usually the story is passed down from generation-to-generation through speaking.

Folk Tale

•No particular location in time and space (“once upon a time”)

•Often includes superhuman powers

•Often has a character that plays tricks on others

Folktales

• Passed down through generations

• Has a moral to share

• Originally not written down but passed on through the telling

Folk Tale

A folk tale is a story with no known author. Folk tales are passed down from one generation to another by word of mouth.

Examples of folktales

Examples of folktales

There once was a farmer named Jack who was

both very lazy and very quick-witted. Now one

day, the Devil came to Jack to tempt him, but

Jack tricked the Devil into climbing a tree.

The Tale of Stingy Jackand his jack o’ lantern

The Devil could not climb down, and asked Jack for help.

"On one condition," Jack replied. "That you not allow me into hell."

The Devil could not very well refuse, so he grudgingly agreed and Jack helped him down.

As everything does, eventually Jack died. He went

straight to hell, but the Devil kept his word, and

would not let him in. Jack traveled to heaven, but he

had been so bad during his life, they would not let

him in heaven either. So Jack hollowed out a

pumpkins and made a lantern out of it. Even now he

wanders the face of the world, trying to find

somewhere he can stay... The End

Fairy Tales

Fairy tale

A fairy tale is a type of imaginative

writing that carries the reader

into an invented world where the

laws of nature, as we know them,

do not operate.

Fairy tales

•Often has witches, dragons, fairies

•Always has the “magical”

•Often has Kings, Queens, princes, et.

Examples of English and European Fairy Tales

Can you think of fairy talesfrom your own culture?

Often times in myths, fairy tales, folktales and fables we have a

character called the

TRICKSTERHe makes a lot of trouble and

jokes. He is naughty and makes a lot of mischief but makes us laugh.

Trickster

The rabbit is often a

TRICKSTER

There are many, many tricksters in myths, legends and tales from all over the world

Trickstersleprechaun

Anansi

Monkey King

Folktales and fairy tales began as oral stories

that were told to help people explain the

world around them. Some are fantastic with

fairies and talking animals, while others are

more realistic. They can be written in rhyme

or with repetitions and as narratives.

When we read these traditional stories from

around the world, we find that we share the

same things we value most highly, fear most

deeply, and hope for most. Still, while the

same yearnings are expressed, each culture

has a unique response made richer by details

from its society and the local environment.

Whatever the explanation, stories that have

been told and cherished for countless

generations are bound to be good. They fire

our own imaginations. As we read, we ask

ourselves, what do I think is true, or fair, or

good, or beautiful? How would I tell my story?