Once Upon a Time

A blazing campfire . . . a busy marketplace . . . a village square . . . a quiet, shaded porch—these are the places where folk tales grow. From earliest times people made up stories of events that occurred in their families, their clans, their tribes, and eventually, their nations. These stories grew with the people. They were told by fathers to sons and spread by traveling minstrels and bards. For hundreds of years folk tales journeyed by word of mouth; no one ever wrote them down. Soon, there were thousands of tales that lived only in the minds of the people.

In the early 1800's the Grimm brothers traveled through Germany, collecting and writing the tales of the folk. They brought us Rapunzel, The Elves and the Shoemaker, and the many other Grimm tales. In other countries, too, collectors sought stories in the homes and haunts of the people. Together they have brought us a huge written literature of folk tales.

ONCE UPON A TIME is a collection of tales from twenty countries, with an added dash of fables and modern fairy tales. There are adventure tales, tales that teach a moral, tales that tell about silly people doing nonsensical things. There are stories about magic, stories about animals, and stories about bravery and courage. Whatever the topic, wherever the land of origin, folk tales have a universal appeal, for they are products of the people, read and loved by people everywhere.

ELIZABETH H. GROSS
Associate Professor,
School of Library Science,
Western Reserve University