Folktales                                        

        People told folktales since long ago in the world.  Folktales were a way to bring news and information from one village to the next.  Parents also used folktales to teach their children lessons.  Folktales helped people learn and understand the customs of their village.  They also explained the wonders of nature, like thunderstorms or the phases of the moon.  In one folktale, a bear hangs the sun out to dry in the morning and puts the sun to bed at night.

Folktales tell a lot about the people who invent them. For example, the early American settlers believed in hard work.  A lot of their stories are about rugged individuals like Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed, who were strong and brave and accomplished a great deal.  Many cultures have one smart character who is always getting into trouble.  Native American Indians have Trickster; Cape Verdians have Los Nobos, the wolf; Africans have Anansi the spider.

Folktales are told several times to each new generation, and each time it is retold it changes.  Every person telling the story relates it with a different view point.  The way the story is told also depends on the storyteller's culture.  The storyteller has to decide where to add a bit of humor or some suspense.