Fairy tale

A fairy tale is a story featuring folkloric characters such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, giants, and others. The fairy tale is a sub-class of the folktale. These stories often involve princes and princesses, and modern versions usually have a happy ending. In cultures where demons and witches are perceived as real, fairy tales may merge into legendary narratives, where the context is perceived by teller and hearers as having historical actuality. However unlike legends and epics they usually do not contain more than superficial references to religion and actual places, persons and events.

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Many critics, including Angela Carter in her introduction to the Virago Book of Fairy Tales have noted that a great deal of so-called fairy tales do not feature fairies at all. This is partly because of the history of the English term "fairy tale" which derives from the French phrase contes de f?e which was first used in the collection of Madame D'Aulnoy in 1697. As Stith Thompson and Carter herself point out, talking animals and the presence of magic seem to be more common to the fairy tale than fairies themselves.

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Some folklorists prefer to use the German term M?rchen to refer to fairy tales, a practice given weight by the definition of Stith Thompson in his 1977 edition of The Folktale: 'a tale of some length involving a succession of motifs or episodes. It moves in an unreal world without definite locality or definite creatures and is filled with the marvelous. In this never-never land humble heroes kill adversaries, succeed to kingdoms and marry princesses.' (Thompson: 8)

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Folkloric: REDIRECT Folklore...

Fairies: REDIRECT Fairy...

Goblin: :For other uses, see (disambiguation)....

Fairy tale related Images and Photos (experimental)

Fairy Tale	The Fairy Tale	A Fairy Tale 1887	Fairy Tale Figure Little Red Riding Hood Pink Resin Statue
Fairy Tale Friendship 24 Piece Floor Puzzle	Fairy Tale Figure Little Red Riding Hood Candy Resin Statue	Puzzle Doubles Fairy Tale Castle	Princess and the Frog Modern Fairy Tale Paper Giclee Print
Fairy	Fairy Cake	Fairy Falls	Fairy Swatter