1. ELE 616
Research in Children’s Literature
Spring 2012
Folklore,
Fairytales
and
Mice!

2. What is Folklore?
–Folklore is the traditional art, literature,
knowledge, and practice that is disseminated
largely through oral communication and
behavioral example. Every group with a sense of
its own identity shares, as a central part of that
identity, folk traditions–the things that people
traditionally believe (planting practices, family
traditions, and other elements of worldview), do
(dance, make music, sew clothing), know (how to
build an irrigation dam, how to nurse an ailment,
how to prepare barbecue), make (architecture,
art, craft), and say (personal experience stories,
riddles, song lyrics).

3. What about Folktales?
What are folktales?
– Folktales are usually stories that have
been passed down from generation to
generation in spoken form. Often we do
not know who was the original author and
it is possible that some stories might have
been concocted around a campfire by a
whole group of people. It is quite normal
to discover that there are many versions of
the tale, some very similar but others may
have only one or two characters in
common and take place in totally different
settings.

4. And Fairy Tales?
But what are fairy tales?
– Our term in English comes directly from the French,
the “contes de fées” that became popular in France
at the end of the seventeenth century.
– But many, even most, of the stories we call fairy tales
do not have any fairies in them. (Think of “Little
Red Riding Hood” and “Snow White,” for example.
Wolves that speak, magic mirrors, yes. But no
fairies.)
– When we speak of fairy tales, we seem to mean
several things at once: tales that include elements of
folk tradition and magical or supernatural elements,
tales that have a certain, predictable structure.
• E. W. Harries (2001) Twice upon a time: Women writers
and the history of the fairy tale. Introduction: Once, not
long ago.

5. Let me state this plainly:
– . . . fairy tales do not have to be stories about fairies.
– . . . fairy tales are part of folklore, but folk tales are not
necessarily fairy tales. The simplest way to explain this is to
think of fairy tales as a subgenre of folklore along with myths
and legends.
– Be aware that this website and most fairy tale studies deal with
literary fairy tales, tales that are once removed from oral
tradition, set down on paper by one or more authors. Once the
story is written down, it becomes static in that version. It is no
longer only folklore, but part of the world's body of literature.
• For info about the website‟s author, see Who is Heidi Anne Heiner?

6. Folktales vs Literary Fairy Tales
Folk tales:
–humbler stories than the great cosmological myth
cycles or long heroic Romances, and as such have been
passed through the generations largely by the lower
caste portions of society: women, peasants, slaves, and
outcast groups such as the gypsies.
The literary fairy tale:
–began as an art form of the upper classes -- made possible by
advances in printing methods and rising literacy. Literary fairy
tales borrow heavily from the oral folk tales of the peasant
tradition (as well from myth, Romance, and literary sources
like Apuleius‟s Golden Ass and Boccaccio‟s Decameron), but
these motifs are crafted and reworked through a single author‟s
imagination.
• Les Contes de Fées: The Literary Fairy Tales of France by Terri
Windling

7. Origin of “fairy tales” in France
The salon tales (1690-1704)
– It was in the French salons that the term “fairy-tale”
(conte de fee) was coined -- a colorful but misleading
label, as many of the stories falling under it do not
contain creatures called “fairies” at all. Rather, they are
wonder tales, or marchen (to use the German word) --
tales about ordinary men and women in a world
invested with magic.
– Although Charles Perrault is the name history has
singled out from this prolific group, he was by no means
the only popular writer of French conte de fee. The
majority of the works collected and published in the
Cabinet des Fees were written by the women who ran
and attended the leading salons of the day.
– by Terri Windling (A talk given at Antigone Books, a feminist
Terri Windling: biography bookstore in Tucson, Arizona, in March 1997.)

8. Another genre of fairy tales
The Oriental Fairy Tale

9. A Third Type of Fairy Tale
The comic and conventional fairy tale

10. The Tales Return to the People
The power of cheap printing
– The printing press has been considered one of
the greatest inventions in history by many, for
without it the world as we know it today would
not have developed. For the study of history and
popular culture its invention is priceless.
Printing allowed for the first time the recording
of the tastes, values, and concerns of the
population beyond the power structure of the
Church and state. It preserved hundreds of
years of oral tradition that may otherwise have
been lost; without the printing press, the
collectors of folktales in the nineteenth century,
headed by the brothers Grimm, would not have
been as fruitful.
• early modern bestsellers: chapbooks and ballads

11. The Brothers Grimm
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
– Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm - famous for their classical
collections of folk songs and folktales, especially for
KINDER- UND HAUSMÄRCHEN (Children's and
Household Tales); generally known as Grimm's Fairy
Tales. Stories such as „Snow White‟ and „Sleeping Beauty‟
have been retold countless times, but they were first
written down by the Brothers Grimm. In their
collaboration Wilhelm, who was the more imaginative and
literary of the two, selected and arranged the stories, while
Jacob was responsible for the scholarly work.
• Wilhelm (Carl) Grimm (1786-1859)
• see also Jacob Grimm

12. A Bear-tale from the Grimm brothers
The Mouse, the Bird, and the Sausage
Once upon a time, a mouse, a bird, and a sausage,
entered into partnership and set up house together. For
a long time all went well; they lived in great comfort,
and prospered so far as to be able to add considerably
to their stores. The bird‟s duty was to fly daily into the
wood and bring in fuel; the mouse fetched the water,
and the sausage saw to the cooking.
• Read the rest of the story here!
• You can also read the same story in a different
translation here!

13. Another tale-collecting pair!
A Norwegian pair
(not brothers this time, though)
In 1842-1843 the first installment of
their work appeared, under the title of
Norske Folkeeventyr (Norwegian Folk
Tales), which was received at once all
over Europe as a most valuable
contribution to comparative mythology
as well as literature. A second volume
was published in 1844, and a new
collection in 1871. Many of the
Peter Christen Jørgen Moe
Folkeeventyr were translated into
Asbjørnsen (1813-1882)
English by Sir George Dasent in 1859.
(1812-1885) • Peter Christen Asbjørnsen ,
Wikipedia

14. A mouse tale from the Norwegian duo
The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
• Read the rest of the story and compare it with translations of
Aesop‟s original and other variants here

15. Some collections of the Norwegian tales
The Norwegian Folk Tales
and their Illustrators
Norwegian
folk tales:
from the
collection of
Peter
Christen
Asbjørnsen,
Jørgen Moe

16. Why all these similar tales?

17. Native American Folktales
Encyclopedia of Myths
– The Native American or Indian peoples of
North America do not share a single,
unified body of mythology. The many
different tribal groups each developed
their own stories about the creation of the
world, the appearance of the first people,
the place of humans in the universe, and
the lives and deeds of deities and heroes.
• Native American Mythology

18. A Native American mouse tale
http://www.ilhawaii.net/~stony/lore116.html

19. Some Sources for Native American
mythology
Tales of the North American Indians
by Stith Thompson [1929]
The classic cross-cultural Native American
folklore study.
The Path on the Rainbow
by George W. Cronyn [1918]
A ground-breaking collection of Native
American oral literature: poetry, chants
and rituals.

20. Evaluating Folktales
(based on Debbie Reese)
1) Is the person listed as the author listed as a
"reteller"? That is, on the cover, is the book
"By xxxx" or "Retold by xxxx.“
2) In the author's note, does the adapter say where
he/she heard the story, or what source he/she
found it in?
3) If the adapter provides info about source, does
he/she provide enough detail so that I could
find the source if I wanted to?
4) In the author's note, does the adapter tell the
reader the ways in which he/she changed/edited
the story and why?

21. More advice on evaluation
5) Does the adapter make clear on the
title page or the front matter
(preface, etc.), or imply in the story
itself which Native American group
this story comes from?
• Adapted from a post entitled “Recommended
Children's/YA/Reference/Resource Books in
Debbie Reese‟s blog:
See also Debbie‟s lesson plan on

22. Good advice
Debbie Reese:
– Elements of Native religion are misunderstood,
maligned, and romanticized when they are removed
from their tribal contexts and appear in American
society. In the process, the spiritual significance of
ceremony and artifacts is lost. For example,
feathers hold deep significance in most Native
settings. To understand why it is inappropriate for
children to make construction-paper feathers and
headbands, it may be useful to consider parallels to
one‟s own deeply held religious experience.
Catholics, for example, would object if
schoolchildren across the U.S. made a chalice out of
a Styrofoam cup and glitter.
• Goals for writing and reviewing books with Native
American themes School Library Journal 45 (11), pp. 36-37

23. Native American Legends: Abenaki - Blackfoot
Native American Legends: Caddo - Crow
Native American Legends: Eskimo - Hupa
Native American Legends: Inca - Lumbee
Native American Legends: Maidu - Ottawa
Native American Legends: Paiute - Squamish
Native American Legends: Tewa - Ute
Native American Legends: Wabanaki - Zuni

24. Where do The Three Blind Mice come in ?
The origin of the „tale‟ of Three blind mice!
• The „farmer‟s wife' refers to the daughter of King
Henry VIII, Queen Mary I. Mary was a staunch
Catholic and her violent persecution of Protestants
led to the nickname of „Bloody Mary‟.
• The „three blind mice were three noblemen who
adhered to the Protestant faith who were
convicted of plotting against the Queen.
• Another Nursery Rhyme which features
„Bloody Mary‟ can be found as follows:
Mary Mary Quite Contrary
Nursery Rhyme
• From Nursery Rhymes - Lyrics, Origins & History!

25. What about the violence and horror?
Jenni Cargill,
professional storyteller:
– Children instinctively respond
emotionally and unconsciously to the Illustration for a
metaphors embedded in stories, if they Bulgarian folktale from
are allowed to. Unconsciously and Scary for Kids
emotionally they recognize the witch, the giant and the wolf as
the scary aspect of adults and/or themselves.
– Folktales can give children access to ways of dealing with their
natural fears, furies and frustrations. Even those with violent
images, can give children important ways to deal with these
confusing feelings.
• Frightful Witches and Kissable Toads…
Why Folktales?

26. “Disneyfying” the folktales
• See also: Walt Disney‟s Sleeping Beauty: A
Literary Approach
And: