Fairy TalesFairy Tales

Fairy Tales

BEFORE QUESTIONS• What stories do we call fairy tales ? Why?

• Do you think fairy tales are only for children ?• What are the stars ( characters ) of fairy tales ?• How did people pass tales when they couldn’t

write?• Did the tellers change the stories?• The earliest fairy tales were meant for

entertainment, weren’t they ?• Where and when do the events usually take place

?• What is a typical beginning of any fairy tale ?• How do fairy tales generally end ? What is the

traditional closing line ?• Are fairy tales always folktales ?• Name some fairy tales you like most of all.

G L O S S A R Y• Supernatural beings -

сверхестественные существа• Fairy (fairies) - фея, волшебница• Elf (elves) - эльф • Goblin(s) - домовой• Gremlin(s) - злой гном• Brownie (brownies) - домовой• Pixy (pixies) - эльф, фея• Witch(es) - ведьма

Who doesn’t love a fairy tale? You may think you’ve outgrown them. But fairy tales remain favorite stories for readers of all ages.

The stars of many fairy tales are supernatural

beings called fairies. Fairies usually take human form, but they can also fly. They have magic powers and generally act kindly toward human beings, like Cinderella’s fairy godmother.

Fairy tales may have elves, goblins, gremlins, brownies, pixies, or other unusual beings instead of fairies. The stories may feature such creatures as witches and talking animals like the wolf in “Little Red Riding Hood.”

Some fairy tales have none of these creatures. But they contain many other characteristics of traditional fairy tales.

Fairy tales have been popular with people all over the world from earliest times. Many of them were made up thousands of years ago. People then passed them down through word of mouth. The tales changed over time. As the stories were retold, the tellers added some details and left others out.

Although we think of fairy tales as children’s stories, the earliest fairy tales were stories for adults. The stories were meant mainly for entertainment, although some fairy tales also contain a moral. The message of “The Ugly Duckling,” for example, suggests that people who are considered unattractive or unpopular as children may have their true worth and beauty discovered in adulthood.

Fairy tales generally take place in a far-off time and place. They typically begin, “Once upon a time.” In the land of fairy tales, magical happenings are everyday occurrences. Bad kings or queens, beautiful but ill-treated girls, and handsome princes are frequent characters in fairy tales. So are poor young men ready for adventure.

A fairy tale often tells the story of an individual. It takes into account the entire life of the hero or heroine, but focuses on a single event such as marriage. Fairy tales generally end happily.

Goodness is rewarded, and evil is punished. The traditional closing line of a fairy tale is, “and they

lived happily ever after.”

Cinderella

Cinderella is a popular folktale about a poor girl who meets a handsome prince with the help of her fairy godmother.

The story is at least 300 years old.

Cinderella, heroine of a European folktale, is mistreated by her jealous stepmother and stepsisters; and her fortune is reversed when a prince falls in love with her and marries her.

The familiar English version is a translation of French writer Charles Perrault’s “Cendrillon.”

Cinderella Flees

Beauty and the Beast

In the folktale Beauty and the Beast a young maiden saves her father’s life by agreeing to live with a beast.

Her love frees the beast from his curse, turning him into a prince.( compare with Russian tale

“ Alenkiy Tsvetochek”)

Snow White

The story of Snow White is a well-known folktale.

It was turned into an animated movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in 1937.

( do you know Pushkin’s tale similar to that one ?)

Little Red Riding Hood

“Little Red Riding Hood” is a well-known fairy tale.

A wolf pretends to be Red Riding Hood’s grandmother so the little girl will come close enough that he can eat her.

The story ends happily, like most fairy tales.

Puss in Boots

Some fairy tales star talking animals like the clever cat in “Puss in Boots.” Puss helps his poor master gain a fortune and marry a beautiful princess.

In this picture, Puss follows the happy couple as they ride off at the end of the story.

Winnie-the-Pooh English writer A. A. Milne

originally wrote Winnie-the-Pooh for his son in 1926.

Not only Christopher Robin himself, with his stuffed bear Winnie-the-Pooh and their constant companion Piglet, but also Kanga and Roo, Eeyore the donkey, the kittenish Tigger, Rabbit, and Owl—all the fanciful characters created by Milne—are beloved by both children and adults.

This pen-and-ink illustration by English artist E. H. Shepard shows Pooh Bear standing on a chair trying to reach his honey pot.

Alice in Wonderland

The Alice stories, which have made the name Lewis Carroll famous throughout the world, and have been translated into many languages, were originally written in 1862 for Alice Liddell, a daughter of Henry George Liddell, dean of Christ Church College.

““Alice’s Adventures in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”-1865Wonderland”-1865

“Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found there”- 1871

The names and sayings of the characters, such as the March Hare, the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, and the White Knight, have become part of everyday speech.

Just So Stories

English writer Rudyard Kipling wrote several animal stories for children including The Jungle Book in 1894, which was made into a popular American film.

Most of animal stories are wonderful tales which are both interesting for children and for grown-ups too.

Shown here is the cover illustration from Kipling’s

Just So Stories for Little Children, from 1902.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was the first in a series of 14 books for children by American writer L. Frank Baum. The first book about Oz was published in 1900.

It is about a girl from rural Kansas who travels to a magical land.

This illustration from the book depicts the main characters seated around a dinner table.

Peter PanIn the famous fairy-tale

play Peter Pan, a fairy named Tinkerbell helps Peter Pan and his friends go to Never-Never Land, where they have many adventures.

Scottish dramatist and novelist James Barrie is best known for his play Peter Pan, which was written in 1904.Peter Pan and Tinkerbell

“Do you believe in fairies? Say quick that you believe. If you

believe, clap your hands!”

James Barrie