Happily Ever After: Settings, Actions, and Lessons in Fairy Tales
2023-02-10
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1Recently, we discussed traditional stories called fairy tales.
2These stories are passed down through the generations.
3We learned that these tales take place at an inexact time in the past: once upon a time or long ago.
4They include wonderful characters and magical elements like special numbers and talking animals!
5But that was just the start of these special stories.
6In today's Everyday Grammar, we will consider how fairy tales end.
7We also will talk about the setting, the action of the story, and the life lessons a reader might learn.
8The setting of a story answers questions about "where" it takes place.
9Since most fairy tales are very old stories, they take place in settings like forests, castles, villages, small countryside houses, or farms.
10Readers need to create a picture of these places in their minds.
11Fairy tales use adjectives to describe the wonderous settings.
12Let's look at a few examples:
13In the fairy tale, Puss in Boots, the hero, is a cat (which wears boots) that enters the "stately castle" of an ogre.
14There, the cat tricks the giant creature into turning himself into a mouse which the cat immediately eats.
15In the castle, there are "spacious halls," which the cat will later walk through with the king.
16The adjective "stately" means something that is impressive in appearance, behavior or size.
17"Spacious" is another adjective meaning wide, open and with a lot of room or space.
18The use of special adjectives in fairy tales is meant to paint a picture in the mind that makes the story come to life.
19In the Grimm Brothers' telling of Snow White, the opening setting helps describe something else ... Snow White, herself:
20White snow was falling, and the cruel queen was sitting by a window surrounded by black material.
21She stuck her finger with her sewing needle, creating red drops of blood.
22The Queen asked for a child with these colors.
23Pale, or snow-white skin, black hair, and rosy, red cheeks and lips.
24In this telling, the setting creates a magical picture of our main character even before she appears in the story.
25A hero or heroine might meet other important characters, fight an evil villain, complete a magical task, or adventure, or do something three times.
26There are many possibilities!
27The action of the story answers the question: "What is happening?" It describes the events or plot of the story.
28We can look at the verbs and adverbs in the fairy tale to see how the plot develops and where the conflict comes in.
29Here is an example from The Snow Maiden:
30"She grew very rapidly - not only daily but hourly - into a tall, beautiful, and graceful girl..."
31We see that the writer uses "grew" as the verb and "rapidly," "daily," and "hourly" to intensify the reader's understanding of the Snow Maiden's growth.
32After a time, spring comes and so does conflict.
33Because the weather is warm, the Snow Maiden is sad, and she does not want to play with her friends in the forest.
34After a while, she finally agrees, but something happens...
35As the Snow Maiden "was jumping over the flames after her companions, she evaporated into a thin cloud..."
36Here we see the phrasal verb "to jump over" in the past progressive form.
37And we see the verb "evaporate," which is a highly descriptive verb meaning "to disappear into nothing."
38And this brings us to lessons and closings.
39Not all fairy tales teach morals or lessons for our daily lives, but many do. Fables are such stories.
40They often use animals that behave like humans to teach lessons about life.
41These tales often end with a moral.
42For example, in the Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, the country mouse visits his cousin, the town mouse.
43In the busy town, their fancy dinner is interrupted by two large dogs.
44The moral of the story is: It is better to live in peace and quiet and have a simple life, than to live in fear surrounded by comfortable objects.
45The final words in many fairy tales are well known.
46After the hero or heroine succeeds or there is a marriage, "they all lived happily ever after."
47This phrase provides a summary to finish the story and leave readers with good thoughts.
48We often expect "happy endings" to many of our stories, not just fairy tales.
49Although many fairy tales do end this way, others might not.
50For example, the Snow Maiden ends sadly for the old husband and wife who wanted a child.
51The Snow Maiden evaporates while jumping over a fire.
52Today, we talked about fairy tale endings, which do not always end "happily ever after."
53We answered the question of "where" when we talked about settings.
54We learned how adjectives can describe those places.
55We also considered the actions and plots of some fairy tales.
56By using verbs and adverbs, writers develop stories or create interesting conflict.
57And, we gave some thought to the morals or lessons of the tales, especially with fables.
58Let's close with some homework.
59Do you remember the fairy tale you chose a few weeks ago?
60Answer the following questions: Where does the fairy tale take place?
61What verbs and adverbs are used to talk about the action or plot of the tale?
62Is there a moral or lesson? What is it?
63After that, consider: How does the fairy tale end? Is there a "happily ever after" ending? Or is it sad?
64Send your answers to learningenglish@voanews.com
65Share your work in the comments below!
66I'm Faith Pirlo. And I'm Caty Weaver.
1Recently, we discussed traditional stories called fairy tales. These stories are passed down through the generations. 2We learned that these tales take place at an inexact time in the past: once upon a time or long ago. They include wonderful characters and magical elements like special numbers and talking animals! 3But that was just the start of these special stories. In today's Everyday Grammar, we will consider how fairy tales end. We also will talk about the setting, the action of the story, and the life lessons a reader might learn. 4Settings 5The setting of a story answers questions about "where" it takes place. Since most fairy tales are very old stories, they take place in settings like forests, castles, villages, small countryside houses, or farms. 6Readers need to create a picture of these places in their minds. Fairy tales use adjectives to describe the wonderous settings. 7Let's look at a few examples: 8In the fairy tale, Puss in Boots, the hero, is a cat (which wears boots) that enters the "stately castle" of an ogre. There, the cat tricks the giant creature into turning himself into a mouse which the cat immediately eats. In the castle, there are "spacious halls," which the cat will later walk through with the king. 9The adjective "stately" means something that is impressive in appearance, behavior or size. 10"Spacious" is another adjective meaning wide, open and with a lot of room or space. The use of special adjectives in fairy tales is meant to paint a picture in the mind that makes the story come to life. 11In the Grimm Brothers' telling of Snow White, the opening setting helps describe something else ... Snow White, herself: 12White snow was falling, and the cruel queen was sitting by a window surrounded by black material. She stuck her finger with her sewing needle, creating red drops of blood. The Queen asked for a child with these colors. Pale, or snow-white skin, black hair, and rosy, red cheeks and lips. 13In this telling, the setting creates a magical picture of our main character even before she appears in the story. 14Let's move onto "actions" in the fairy tales 15Actions 16A hero or heroine might meet other important characters, fight an evil villain, complete a magical task, or adventure, or do something three times. There are many possibilities! 17The action of the story answers the question: "What is happening?" It describes the events or plot of the story. We can look at the verbs and adverbs in the fairy tale to see how the plot develops and where the conflict comes in. 18Here is an example from The Snow Maiden: 19"She grew very rapidly - not only daily but hourly - into a tall, beautiful, and graceful girl..." 20We see that the writer uses "grew" as the verb and "rapidly," "daily," and "hourly" to intensify the reader's understanding of the Snow Maiden's growth. 21After a time, spring comes and so does conflict. Because the weather is warm, the Snow Maiden is sad, and she does not want to play with her friends in the forest. After a while, she finally agrees, but something happens... 22As the Snow Maiden "was jumping over the flames after her companions, she evaporated into a thin cloud..." 23Here we see the phrasal verb "to jump over" in the past progressive form. And we see the verb "evaporate," which is a highly descriptive verb meaning "to disappear into nothing." 24And this brings us to lessons and closings. 25Lessons and closings 26Not all fairy tales teach morals or lessons for our daily lives, but many do. Fables are such stories. They often use animals that behave like humans to teach lessons about life. These tales often end with a moral. 27For example, in the Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, the country mouse visits his cousin, the town mouse. In the busy town, their fancy dinner is interrupted by two large dogs. 28The moral of the story is: It is better to live in peace and quiet and have a simple life, than to live in fear surrounded by comfortable objects. 29The final words in many fairy tales are well known. After the hero or heroine succeeds or there is a marriage, "they all lived happily ever after." 30This phrase provides a summary to finish the story and leave readers with good thoughts. We often expect "happy endings" to many of our stories, not just fairy tales. 31Although many fairy tales do end this way, others might not. For example, the Snow Maiden ends sadly for the old husband and wife who wanted a child. The Snow Maiden evaporates while jumping over a fire. 32Final thoughts 33Today, we talked about fairy tale endings, which do not always end "happily ever after." We answered the question of "where" when we talked about settings. We learned how adjectives can describe those places. We also considered the actions and plots of some fairy tales. By using verbs and adverbs, writers develop stories or create interesting conflict. And, we gave some thought to the morals or lessons of the tales, especially with fables. 34Let's close with some homework. Do you remember the fairy tale you chose a few weeks ago? Answer the following questions: Where does the fairy tale take place? What verbs and adverbs are used to talk about the action or plot of the tale? Is there a moral or lesson? What is it? 35After that, consider: How does the fairy tale end? Is there a "happily ever after" ending? Or is it sad? 36Send your answers to learningenglish@voanews.com 37Share your work in the comments below! 38I'm Faith Pirlo. And I'm Caty Weaver. 39Faith Pirlo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 40_________________________________________________________________ 41Words in This Story 42character -n. a person in a story, book, movie or play 43magical -adj. something with impossible powers 44castle - n. a large building, usually with thick walls where people like kings and queens live 45boots -n. (pl.) tall shoes that protect the lower part of the leg 46ogre - n. a horrible giant monster in fairy tales 47sewing needle - n. a thin piece of metal that is used with thread to make or repair cloth material such as clothes 48pale - adj. light in color 49task -n. a job or something that must be done 50graceful -adj. moving in a smooth and attractive way 51companion - n. a person or animal you spend time with or enjoy being with 52evaporate -v. to go away suddenly, to disappear or vanish; v. to change from a liquid into a gas 53lesson -n. something learned through experience or taught to affect future behavior 54fancy -adj. not plain or ordinary, but costly or desirable 55comfortable - adj. giving physical ease 56phrase -n. two or more words that do not form a complete sentence but that express an idea 57__________________________________________________________________ 58What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. Write to us at learningenglish@voanews.com or leave us a comment below. 59We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 60Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.