Tale

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Tale may refer to:

  • Cautionary tale, a traditional story told in folklore, to warn its hearer of a danger
  • Fairy tale, a fictional story that usually features folkloric characters (such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, witches, giants, and talking animals) and enchantments
  • Folk tale, a story passed-down within a particular population, which comprises the traditions of that culture or group.
  • Fable, a brief story, which illustrates a moral lesson and which features animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature which are anthropomorphised
  • Frame tale, whereby the main story is composed, at least in part, for the purpose of organizing a set of shorter stories.
  • Urban Legend, a modern folk tale consisting of stories often thought to be factual by those circulating them
  • Old wives' tale, a wisdom much like an urban legend, supposedly passed down by old wives to a younger generation
  • Tall tale, a story that claims to explain the reason for some natural phenomenon