Myths, Legends, Fables and Folktales

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Myths, Legends, Fables and Folktales

• Four Different Traditional Tales

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What are myths?

• Myths are stories that try to explain how our
  world works and how we should treat each other.
  They are usually set in times long ago, before
  history as we know it was written.
• People have always asked questions like How did
  our world come to be? or Why is the ocean
  blue? Some myths answered these questions.

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What are myths?

• In other myths, gods or super-beings used their
  powers to make events happen. These myths
  described people and the choices they made. They
  might be about victory (achieving something),
  tragedy (losing something), honor (doing the
  right thing), being brave even when you are
  frightened, or being foolish and making mistakes.
  Heroes, gods and goddesses could help them or
  make things more difficult for them.

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What are myths?

• Around the world, myths were shared by different
  groups of people and became part of their
  culture. Storytellers passed the stories on from
  generation to generation. Some similar myths were
  told in many cultures, but with variations in the
  events or characters. For example, most cultures,
  tribes or other groups of people had their own
  version of how our world began.

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What are myths?

• For early people, myths were like science because
  they explained how natural events work. However,
  these stories were made up and are not really
  true.
• Myth comes from the Greek word mythos which
  means word of mouth.

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What are legends?

• Legends are also fictional stories, but they are
  different from myths. Myths are about how the
  natural world works, and are set in an ancient
  time.
• Legends are based on real people who lived in
  more recent times and are mentioned in history.
  Legends are told for a purpose and are based on
  facts, but they are not completely true.

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What are legends?

• Either the person never really did what the story
  says, or the historical events were changed. The
  purpose was to make the story more interesting or
  convincing, or to teach a lesson, like knowing
  right from wrong. Like myths, legends are passed
  down from generation to generation.
• Examples of people in English legends are King
  Arthur and Robin Hood.

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What are legends?

• A man who could have been King Arthur is known to
  have lived in the 5th or 6th century, but the
  stories of the Knights of the Round Table and
  Merlin the Magician are probably not true. The
  point was that knights and their king defended
  and helped their people.

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What are legends?

• The character and deeds of Robin Hood may have
  been based on someone else. Robin of Loxley lived
  in Nottinghamshire around the time of the story,
  and he did help the poor. However, did he live in
  Nottingham forest with a band of robbers?
  Probably not, but helping other people is
  important and the legend hasnt been forgotten.

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What are legends?

• Today people use the word legend in a different
  way when they talk about people and their deeds.
  They may describe an athlete as a sporting
  legend, or an actor as a film legend. What
  they mean is the person is famous because of
  their skills or things they have done.
• Urban legends are intriguing stories that arent
  true but could be possible

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What are fables?

• A fable is another type of story, also passed
  down from generation to generation and told to
  teach a lesson about something. A fable usually
  ends with a moral, or a short sentence with a
  lesson about life.

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What are fables?

• Fables are often about animals, plants, and
  natural forces like thunder or wind, that can
  talk and act like people.
• The most famous fables were written by a man from
  ancient Greece called Aesop. We know them as
  Aesops Fables, and he wrote more than 600 of
  them. The story of The Tortoise and the Hare was
  written by him.

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What are folk or fairy tales?

• Folk and fairy tales are stories written
  specially for children, often about magical
  characters such as elves, fairies, goblins and
  giants. Sometimes the characters are animals.
• Some folk tales were passed down orally before
  being written.

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What are folk or fairy tales?

• Hans Christian Andersen is famous for writing
  fairy tales. He was born in Denmark in 1805.
  Examples of his stories are The Little Mermaid,
  Thumbelina and The Red Shoes.
• In Copenhagen there is a statue of the little
  mermaid, sitting on a rock on the beach at the
  harbor, in memory of the writer.

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What are folk or fairy tales?

• Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were brothers, born in
  Germany in 1785 and 1786. They are famous because
  they collected together many old fairy tales from
  different parts of Germany and wrote them down
  for people to read. We know them as the Brothers
  Grimm and their collection includes Cinderella
  and The Frog Prince.

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What is the difference?

• Myths and legends are old stories told for adults
  and children. Many were not written down until
  recently. Both are fictional, but legends are
  based on some fact.
• Fables were written for adults and children. Many
  were written by the Greek writer Aesop.
• Folk or fairy tales were written specially for
  children. Some were told orally before they were
  written.

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• The End