A child's world is rich with stories. The tales they see in movies, read in books, or that their parents and grandparents tell them take them on magical journeys. They take them to many different places, where they meet many strange and wonderful people, animals, or creatures. When we take a step back, however, it becomes clear that the stories are not quite as different from each other as they might first appear.
Fairy tales - these first magical stories told to children - contain many similar main ideas, or themes. These themes are also similar across cultures. No matter where a child is born, his fairy tales probably have characters like a poor servant girl who marries a prince, starving children who find a new home, or a young peasant boy who discovers that he is actually a lost king. In fact, the most popular theme in fairy tales involves a person rising above his or her low position in life.
Fairy tales - these first magical stories told to children - contain many similar main ideas, or themes. These themes are also similar across cultures. No matter where a child is born, his fairy tales probably have characters like a poor servant girl who marries a prince, starving children who find a new home, or a young peasant boy who discovers that he is actually a lost king. In fact, the most popular theme in fairy tales involves a person rising above his or her low position in life.
