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Get kids thinking • Talk with kids about a kind of story that we call a legend. Legends are stories about a real place and time in the past. They may have been based in truth, but have changed over time and become a mix of truth and fiction. They often feature a main character who is known for acts of bravery and heroism. •
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Feb 18, 2024 · An origin story is a narrative construct detailing the genesis of a character or organization. It encompasses the critical events, influences, and circumstances that shape the character's traits, beliefs, values, and motivations. Often serving as a catalyst for their future actions or decisions, the origin story is pivotal in creating the depth ...
- What Is A Pourquoi Tale?
- 7 Characteristics of Pourquoi Tales
- 3 Famous Pourquoi Tales Examples
- Is A Pourquoi Tale A Fable?
- Is A Pourquoi Tale A Folktale?
- Discover More…
A Pourquoi Tale is a short fictional story explaining why a natural phenomenon is the way it is. Pourquoi tales originate in the oral tradition, feature archetypical characters, and have a clear, straightforward structure.
1. Each Pourquoi tale answers a clear question
Pourquoi Tales explain why and how something came to be. Why are things how they are? Often, the title of a Pourquoi tale is the question the tale answers. Examples: 1. Why the Sea is Salt 2. How Camel Got its Hump 3. Why Hens Scratch in the Dirt This is not always the case though. I frequently tell a tale which explains why the shell of a tortoise is made up of separate plates. This story has several names, I read it for the first time as ‘The Turtle Who Couldn’t Stop Talking’.
2. Pourquoi tales are short, stand-alone stories
Whereas myths are part of a collection of stories and feature overlapping deities, Pourquoi tales can stand alone. You don’t need to know other stories to understand them. They are short and can usually be told in 5-10 minutes. No grand epics.
3. Pourquoi tales are originally oral stories
Literacy might have saved the Pourquoi tales by collecting them in books, but they did not start in books. Pourquoi tales are part of the oral tradition, the collection of folkloristic tales transferred through speaking and listening. Pourquoi tales usually belong to a certain culture. They don’t have one author but are part of the folktales, the tales of the folk (you and me). Of course, tales like the Just-So Stories of Rudyard Kipling and modern Pourquoi stories do have an author.
1. How the Camel Got His Hump
How the Camel Got His Hump is a Just-So story written by Rudyard Kipling. In the middle of the desert lives a camel who does not want to work. The only thing he says is ‘Humph!’. The other animals ask a Djinn to do something about it. The camel says: ‘Humph’, once too many times and he gets a hump from the Djinn with enough water and food to work for three days. Read the entire fairy tale: How the Camel Got His Hump(fairytalez.com)
2. Why the Sea is Salt
Why the Sea is Salt is a Norwegian folktale about a mill that grinds whatever you want until you stop it. Of course, the mill falls in the wrong hands. The skipper who gets it at the end of the tale tells it to grind salt. However, he does not know how to stop it and throws it overboard. It’s still grinding salt on the bottom of the sea and that’s why the sea is salt. Read the entire fairy tale: Why the Sea is Salt(surlalunefairytales.com)
3. Why the Bean has a Seam
The Straw, the Coal and the Bean is a Brothers Grimm fairy taleabout three characters who meet in the kitchen of an old woman. They escape and travel the world together. Unfortunately the straw burns, the coal drowns, and the bean bursts from laughing. A tailor repairs her and that is why beans have a seam. Read the entire fairy tale: The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean(internationalfairytales.com)
Many Pourquoi tales deal with animals, are short, and have a simple lesson. They might also be classified as fables. However, not all are fables, because many don’t feature animals.
A Pourquoi tale is often, but not always, a folktale. It explains why something in nature is as it is. Most of them are folktales, but some of them are also better characterized as legends or tall tales.
Mythology is the rich collection of traditional tales called myths from cultures all over the world. Many myths date back to ancient times. They are stories about how the world was created and why certain things happen. Today the word myth is often used to describe something that is not true.
Feb 29, 2024 · An origin story is a narrative account that reveals the circumstances and experiences that shape a fictional character. It explores the pivotal events, internal transformations, and motivations that define the character's identity, purpose, and often their powers or abilities.
Everywhere around the world people tell stories about how the Universe began and how humans came into being. Scholars, namely anthropologists and ethnologists, call these tales “creation myths” or “origin stories.” In comic-book lingo there is a specialized meaning for “origin stories.”
Origin story. In entertainment, an origin story is a story that tells how a character or group of characters became the way they are. Very often, it adds to the main story. In comic books, an origin story explains how certain characters got the powers they have (often superpowers), or how they became a hero or villain.
