Traditional literature is a combination of four distinct, yet
intertwined genres of children's literature. Myths, legends,
fables and tales of fearless princes, magic castles, giants,
wicked witches, and heroines saved bring childhood fantasies
to life with all the wonderful dreams and beliefs that have
delighted the hearts of children down through the ages of
storytelling. "With their well-defined plots, easily
identifiable characters, rapid action, and satisfactory
endings, the tales lend themselves to many enjoyable
experiences in the classroom, library, home, or around the
campfire" (Norton, p243). Four forms of traditional tales are:
Folktales
Folktales deal with adventures both plausible and
implausible wrapped in the forms of human or animal abilities.
Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, and the Story of
the Three Little Pigs,
are all examples of the childhood tales that we have all
grown up with. They are the simple tales that have truly
evil people or animals, and truly good people or animals,
and the good always wins out in the end in these stories,
giving way to the child's version of fairness. These stories
usually start out like: "Once upon a time in a far away
land there lived a....," or "Once upon a time there was...."
All cultures have folktales and while the characters have
changed slightly in some of the stories, or the plot might
have changed in some fashion, the main idea is still there.
An excellent example of the same story in different versions
can be seen in the story of Lon Po Po from China, the story
of Little Red Riding Hood from France, and the story of Little
Red Cap from Germany, all of which share the same themes. A
little girl who wears red goes through the forest on the
way to her grandmother's house and is met by a wolf. The
wolf gets into the house and somehow the people trick the
wolf so that he does not get to eat or finish digesting
the people he wants for a meal. Folktales proved to be
excellent vehicles for teaching children the values and
lessons in behavior which the storyteller thought appropriate.
Myths deal with ancient stories, such as the escapades
of the Greek gods and their great feats of bravery. Roman
mythology adopted the Greek gods, changing the name of Zeus
to Jupiter, Hera to Juno, Poseidon to Neptune, and so on.
The myths gave human emotions and qualities to the super-
natural beings who were the heroes and heroines of their
stories. Hera was known for her jealousy. Zeus was always
trying to get things past his wife. Poseidon ruled the
weather by his whims. These gods and goddesses helped or
harmed mankind as they pleased. One charming story that is
my favorite is that of Galatea, the statue a man carved to
fit his description of womanly beauty that the gods bring
to life. Loves, lost loves and love restrained are all
entwined in the ancient Greek stories.
Norse mythology is marked by a sense of doom, and its heroes
are those brave souls who show their courage: "a heroic
death, like a martyr's death, is not a defeat, but a triumph"
(Hamilton, p301). Every culture has its own mythical literature,
but it is interesting to see that all these stories have
certain repetitive patterns in which truth is expressed in
the form of symbols and allegories to explain the human
condition and the reason for human suffering. It is also
interesting to note that new myths continue to be created.
Legends may deal with real people like Henry VIII, or
Robin Hood. The stories written about them could have been real
because the tale deals with real historical figures. So
whether there ever was a real prince and pauper does not
matter, because the story made up around that time period
is essential to help people believe that they won't always
have to live in the same social system that they were born
in. Other stories were used around the campfire like the
tall tales of Mike Fink, or Pecos Bill who might have been
real people but time has erased the line where the true
history and legend separate. These stories leave questions
and wonder in the listeners' minds as they ponder, "Did Mike
Fink really wrestle a grizzly bear?" or "Had he beat up all
the other river boat men on the Mississippi?" The
historical facts have been creatively altered to intermingle
many valuable precepts that encourage moral conduct and right
living. Such narratives have an intermixture of fact that
sets them apart from pure myth or popular tales.
The ones that often come to mind first are the fables by Aesop. These stories are short and in the end bring us to the simple truths that often we don't see in everyday life. One of these is the story of the fox and the grapes. Because the fox could not attain the grapes that were just beyond his reach, he supposed that they must be sour grapes. He did not know this for sure as he was upset that he could not attain them, so they were "sour grapes" to him. Fables are concerned with teaching us valuable truths in simple stories. The characters don't change. They just learn a valuable lesson that does not change their standpoint. In fact, most of the characters of fables are inanimate objects or animals that are represented with human interests and passions, such as the modern The Little Engine That Could.
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