Fairy tales are stories that have been popular for thousands of years and passed down through oral tradition. They typically feature supernatural elements like fairies, take place in a magical setting, and end happily. Some of the most well-known fairy tales discussed in the document are Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, Alice in Wonderland, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and Peter Pan.

1. Fairy Tales
Fairy Tales

2. BEFORE
QUESTIONS
• What stories do we call fairy tales ? Why?
• Do you think fairy tales are only for children ?
• What are the stars ( characters ) of fairy tales ?
• How did people pass tales when they couldn’t write?
• Did the tellers change the stories?
• The earliest fairy tales were meant for entertainment,
weren’t they ?
• Where and when do the events usually take place ?
• What is a typical beginning of any fairy tale ?
• How do fairy tales generally end ? What is the
traditional closing line ?
• Are fairy tales always folktales ?
• Name some fairy tales you like most of all.

3. G L O S S A R Y
• Supernatural beings - сверхестественные
существа
• Fairy (fairies) - фея, волшебница
• Elf (elves) - эльф
• Goblin(s) - домовой
• Gremlin(s) - злой гном
• Brownie (brownies) - домовой
• Pixy (pixies) - эльф, фея
• Witch(es) - ведьма

4. Who doesn’t love a fairy tale? You may think you’ve outgrown
them. But fairy tales remain favorite stories for readers of all
ages.
The stars of many fairy tales are supernatural beings called
fairies. Fairies usually take human form, but they can also fly.
They have magic powers and generally act kindly toward
human beings, like Cinderella’s fairy godmother.
Fairy tales may have elves, goblins, gremlins, brownies, pixies,
or other unusual beings instead of fairies. The stories may
feature such creatures as witches and talking animals like the
wolf in “Little Red Riding Hood.”
Some fairy tales have none of these creatures. But they contain
many other characteristics of traditional fairy tales.

5. Fairy tales have been popular with people all over the world
from earliest times. Many of them were made up thousands
of years ago. People then passed them down through word
of mouth. The tales changed over time. As the stories were
retold, the tellers added some details and left others out.
Although we think of fairy tales as children’s stories , the
earliest fairy tales were stories for adults. The stories were
meant mainly for entertainment, although some fairy tales
also contain a moral. The message of “The Ugly Duckling,”
for example, suggests that people who are considered
unattractive or unpopular as children may have their true
worth and beauty discovered in adulthood.

6. Fairy tales generally take place in a far-off time and
place. They typically begin, “Once upon a time.” In
the land of fairy tales, magical happenings are
everyday occurrences. Bad kings or queens, beautiful
but ill-treated girls, and handsome princes are
frequent characters in fairy tales. So are poor young
men ready for adventure.
A fairy tale often tells the story of an individual. It takes
into account the entire life of the hero or heroine, but
focuses on a single event such as marriage. Fairy
tales generally end happily.
Goodness is rewarded, and evil is punished. The
traditional closing line of a fairy tale is, “and they
lived happily ever after.”

7. Cinderella
Cinderella is a popular
folktale about a poor girl
who meets a handsome
prince with the help of
her fairy godmother.
The story is at least 300
years old.

8. Cinderella, heroine of a
European folktale, is
mistreated by her jealous
stepmother and
stepsisters; and her
fortune is reversed when
a prince falls in love with
her and marries her.
The familiar English version
is a translation of French
writer Charles Perrault’s
“Cendrillon.”
Cinderella Flees

9. Beauty and the Beast
In the folktale Beauty and
the Beast a young
maiden saves her
father’s life by agreeing
to live with a beast.
Her love frees the beast
from his curse, turning
him into a prince.
( compare with Russian tale
“ Alenkiy Tsvetochek”)

10. Snow White
The story of Snow White is
a well-known folktale.
It was turned into an
animated movie, Snow
White and the Seven
Dwarfs, in 1937.
( do you know Pushkin’s
tale similar to that
one ?)

11. Little Red Riding Hood
“Little Red Riding Hood” is
a well-known fairy tale.
A wolf pretends to be Red
Riding Hood’s
grandmother so the little
girl will come close
enough that he can eat
her.
The story ends happily,
like most fairy tales.

12. Puss in Boots
Some fairy tales star
talking animals like the
clever cat in “Puss in
Boots.” Puss helps his
poor master gain a
fortune and marry a
beautiful princess.
In this picture, Puss
follows the happy
couple as they ride off
at the end of the story.

13. Winnie-the-Pooh
English writer A. A. Milne
originally wrote Winnie-
the-Pooh for his son in
1926.
Not only Christopher Robin
himself, with his stuffed
bear Winnie-the-Pooh
and their constant
companion Piglet, but
also Kanga and Roo,
Eeyore the donkey, the
kittenish Tigger, Rabbit,
This pen-and-ink illustration by and Owl—all the fanciful
English artist E. H. Shepard shows characters created by
Pooh Bear standing on a chair trying
to reach his honey pot.
Milne—are beloved by
both children and
adults.

15. Alice in Wonderland
The Alice stories, which
have made the name
Lewis Carroll famous
throughout the world,
and have been
translated into many
languages, were
originally written in
1862 for Alice Liddell, a
daughter of Henry
George Liddell, dean of
Christ Church College.

16. “ Alice’s Adventures in
Wonderland”-1865
“Through the Looking
Glass and What Alice
Found there”- 1871
The names and sayings of
the characters, such as
the March Hare, the
Mad Hatter, the
Cheshire Cat, and the
White Knight, have
become part of
everyday speech.

17. Just So Stories
English writer Rudyard
Kipling wrote several
animal stories for
children including The
Jungle Book in 1894,
which was made into a
popular American
film.
Most of animal stories
are wonderful tales Shown here is the cover
which are both illustration from Kipling’s
interesting for children Just So Stories for Little
and for grown-ups too. Children, from 1902.

18. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of
Oz was the first in a
series of 14 books for
children by American
writer L. Frank Baum.
The first book about
Oz was published in
1900.
It is about a girl from
rural Kansas who
travels to a magical
land.
This illustration from the
book depicts the main
characters seated
around a dinner table.

19. Peter Pan
In the famous fairy-tale
play Peter Pan, a fairy
named Tinkerbell helps
Peter Pan and his
friends go to Never-
Never Land, where they
have many adventures.
Scottish dramatist and
novelist James Barrie is
best known for his play
Peter Pan, which was
written in 1904.
Peter Pan and Tinkerbell

20. “Do you believe in fairies?
Say quick that you believe. If you
believe,
clap your hands! ”
James Barrie