Questions about folktales or folk tales, i.e. stories that have been orally passed down from generation to generation. For myths and legends, use the [myths] tag.
Questions tagged [folk-tales]
41 questions
15
votes
2 answers
How familiar would the "Blind men and an elephant" tale be in the West?
I am translating my article to English, which heavily uses the Blind men and an elephant tale. Since the metaphor is important, I wonder how it would be perceived in the West, especially in the US. Do you know how familiar or exotic it is to a…
Ooker
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10
votes
2 answers
How did Mama and Papa bear know someone was sitting in their chairs?
Goldilocks sits in Mama and Papa bears' chairs, but does not break them:
After she'd eaten the three bears' breakfasts she decided she was feeling a little tired. So, she walked into the living room where she saw three chairs. Goldilocks sat in…
Owen
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5
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1 answer
Why are so many fairy tales so similar?
In Europe, fairytales have various different names of the same story, or variants. One example of this is Charles Perrault's Cinderella ("Cendrillon ou la petite pantoufle de verre") and the much darker, violent version of Cinderella by the Brother…
North Læraðr
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4
votes
1 answer
Source for the Stages of Drunkenness resembling sheep, lion, ape, sow?
While researching various levels of drunkenness, at the Online Etymology Dictionary site I found a statement that medieval folklore recognized four successive stages of it, in which drinkers resembled sheep, lion, ape, and sow: Origin and meaning of…
Etymfan
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Why are The Wild Swans by Andersen and The Six Swans by Grimm so similar to each other?
Why are The Wild Swans by Andersen and The Six Swans by Grimm so similar to each other?
Which one is more original?
Tim
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