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fairy tale

Translation
fairy tale
1. a story, usually for children, about elves, hobgoblins, dragons, fairies, or other magical creatures.
2. an incredible or misleading statement, account, or belief: His story of being a millionaire is just a fairy tale. Also called fairy story.
[1740-50]

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Simple narrative typically of folk origin dealing with supernatural beings.

Fairy tales may be written or told for the amusement of children or may have a more sophisticated narrative containing supernatural or obviously improbable events, scenes, and personages and often having a whimsical, satirical, or moralistic character. The term embraces popular folktales such as "Cinderella" and "Puss in Boots," as well as art fairy tales of later invention, such as those by Hans Christian Andersen. It is often difficult to distinguish between tales of literary and oral origin, because folktales have received literary treatment from early times, and literary tales can often be traced back to oral tradition.

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      wonder tale involving marvellous elements and occurrences, though not necessarily about fairies. The term embraces such popular folktales ( Märchen, q.v.) as “Cinderella” and “Puss-in-Boots” and art fairy tales (Kunstmärchen) of later invention, such as The Happy Prince (1888), by the Irish writer Oscar Wilde. It is often difficult to distinguish between tales of literary and oral origin, because folktales have received literary treatment from early times, and, conversely, literary tales have found their way back into the oral tradition. Early Italian collections such as Le piacevoli notti (1550, vol. 1; 1553, vol. 2; “The Pleasant Nights”) of Gianfrancesco Straparola and Il Pentamerone (1636; originally published [1634] in Neapolitan dialect as Lo cunto de li cunti) of Giambattista Basile contain reworkings in a highly literary style of such stories as “Snow White,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and “The Maiden in the Tower.” A later French collection, Charles Perrault's (Perrault, Charles) Contes de ma mère l'oye (1697; Tales of Mother Goose), including “Cinderella,” “Little Red Ridinghood,” and “Beauty and the Beast,” remains faithful to the oral tradition, while the Kinder- und Hausmärchen (1812–15; “Children's and Household Tales,” generally known as Grimm's Fairy Tales) of the Brothers Grimm (Grimm, Brothers) are transcribed directly from oral renderings (although often from literate informants). The influence of Perrault and the Grimms has been very great, and their versions have been commonly adopted as nursery tales among literate people in the West. For example, Grimm's “Rumpelstiltskin” has replaced the native English “Tom Tit Tot,” and Perrault's “Cinderella” has replaced “Cap o' Rushes,” once almost equally popular in oral tradition.

      Art fairy tales were cultivated in the period of German Romanticism by Goethe, Ludwig Tieck, Clemens Brentano, and E.T.A. Hoffmann and in Victorian England by John Ruskin (The King of the Golden River, 1851) and Charles Kingsley (The Water-Babies, 1863), but few of these tales have found permanent popularity. The master of the art fairy tale, whose works rank with the traditional stories in universal popularity, is the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen (Andersen, Hans Christian). Though his stories have their roots in folk legend, they are personal in style and contain elements of autobiography and contemporary social satire.

      Twentieth-century psychologists, notably Sigmund Freud (Freud, Sigmund), Carl Jung (Jung, Carl), and Bruno Bettelheim (Bettelheim, Bruno), have interpreted elements of the fairy tale as manifestations of universal fears and desires. In his Uses of Enchantment (1976), Bettelheim asserted that the apparently cruel and arbitrary nature of many folk fairy stories is actually an instructive reflection of the child's natural and necessary “killing off” of successive phases of development and initiation.

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Universalium. 2010.

  
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  • fairy tale — n. 1. a story about magical or mythological creatures, such as fairies, elves, goblins, trolls, orcs, unicorns, wizards, dragons, etc., usually composed for the amusement of children; called also a {fairy story}. [PJC] 2. a false story intended… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • fairy-tale — noun 1) (волшебная) сказка 2) coll. выдумка, небылица, бабушки ны сказки …   Англо-русский словарь Мюллера

  • Fairy tale — For a comparison of fairy tale with other kinds of stories, such as myths, legends and fables, see Traditional stories. For other uses, see Fairy tale (disambiguation). Not to be confused with Fairy Tail …   Wikipedia

  • fairy-tale — fair·y tale (fârʹē tāl ) adj. 1. Of or relating to a fairy tale. 2. Likened to a fairy tale: a fairy tale romance that preceded the royal wedding. * * * …   Universalium

  • fairy-tale — adjective Date: 1924 characteristic of or suitable to a fairy tale; especially marked by seemingly unreal beauty, perfection, luck, or happiness < led a fairy tale life > < a store clerk s fairy tale romance > …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • fairy-tale — adjective Of the nature of a fairy tale; as if from a fairy tale. a fairy tale romance Syn: magical …   Wiktionary

  • Fairy Tale — Fairytale Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Fairytale ou fairy tale (conte) peut faire référence à : Fairytale, un album de Constance Amiot ; Fairytale, une chanson d Alexander… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • fairy tale — or[story] {n.} An inaccurate, even false account of something; a result of wishful thinking. * /Jeff said he was going to be promoted soon, but we all suspect that it is only one of his customary fairy tales./ …   Словарь американских идиом

  • fairy tale — or[story] {n.} An inaccurate, even false account of something; a result of wishful thinking. * /Jeff said he was going to be promoted soon, but we all suspect that it is only one of his customary fairy tales./ …   Словарь американских идиом

  • fairy tale — noun Date: 1749 1. a. a story (as for children) involving fantastic forces and beings (as fairies, wizards, and goblins) called also fairy story b. a story in which improbable events lead to a happy ending 2. a made up story usually designed to… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

Фильмы

  • The Fairy Tale about "Konyok-Gorbunok"., 1961 — The ballet film "Konyok-Gorbunok" ["The Hunchback Horse"] performed by the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre.
  • Near the Soldier., 1975 — A film tells about cameramen's and reporters's work during the Great Patriotic War [Soviet People's participation in World War II 1941-1945].
  • Fairy Tales for Cinderellas., 1988 — About the Moscow beauty contest that was held in the capital of Russia in summer of 1988.