Features

Full-Text Tales and In-Depth Folkloric Analysis

Nearly all of the full-text folktales, fairy tales, myths of indigenous peoples, legends, sagas, and fables in the Tales Online database are available for research, performance, adaptation, and other educational and creative purposes through the public domain in the United States (not under copyright). Any tales which remain under copyright are presented in summary.

In addition to the more than 1,000 tales available with any trial or subscription, our Researcher Plans include access to additional searching methods, as well as in-depth folkloric analysis of many of the tales by a professional or advanced student folklorist. These analyses include:

• An identification of the "genre" of the tale
• A notation if the tale is field collected or adapted
• "Tale type" and "motifs" according to the Stith Thompson Motif Index which classify
  Narrative events which occur in the tale
• Characters appearing in the tale and their narrative role
• Settings that appear in the tale

Learn more about the tale analyses and how we use the Stith Thompson Motif Index here.

Additional Tale Information

Full Bibliographic Information - Full bibliographic information for each of the source collections and journal articles.

Country of Origin - The country where the tale was told and/or collected.

Language(s) - Both the original language and/or the language of publication are noted. Some tales may also contain more than one language, or are available as dual-language texts.

Ethnic Group(s) - The ethnic background of the storyteller or collector.

Age Appropriateness - Many of the tales have been assigned an age appropriate level depending on their contents and language. The criteria for these recommendations are based on each tale’s relationship to violence, explicit sexual references, and vocabulary.

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