Ch 11: Early Fables & Fairy Tales
About This Chapter
Early Fables & Fairy Tales - Chapter Summary
In this fun chapter, our instructors cover some of the early fairy tales and fables, including The Ugly Duckling and Hansel and Gretel. You'll learn about the themes, characters and settings of these famous stories. To test your understanding, you can take the short quiz following each lesson. It's easy to use these learning tools, which are available to you 24 hours a day on your mobile phone or tablet. If you need any help, you're welcome to contact one of our instructors with any questions. This chapter is designed to help you:
- Understand the history and characters in Little Red Riding Hood
- Summarize The Boy Who Cried Wolf and discuss the moral of the story
- Explain the plot line and themes used in The Frog Prince
- Describe the story of The Ugly Duckling
- Identify the setting and themes of Hansel and Gretel

1. Little Red Riding Hood: History & Summary
The favorite bedtime story ''Little Red Riding Hood'' has a rich history dating back to the first century. In this lesson, we'll look at the history and go over a brief summary of the story.

2. Little Red Riding Hood Characters
Meet the characters of 'Little Red Riding Hood,' the story of a girl, her grandmother and a big, bad wolf! In this lesson, we'll explore each of the characters more fully and take a look at the role they play.

3. The Boy Who Cried Wolf: Moral, Theme & Analysis
This lesson introduces the story, themes, and moral lesson of Aesop's fable ''The Boy Who Cried Wolf.'' We'll discover the significance of the wolf, the boy's motivation, and the consequences of lying.

4. The Boy Who Cried Wolf Summary
Even a white lie can get you in trouble! That's the basic premise behind Aesop's fable ''The Boy Who Cried Wolf.'' In this lesson, we'll break down the story of the Shepherd Boy and the trouble he causes.

5. The Frog Prince Summary
Sometimes keeping a promise can change your life. In this lesson, you'll learn more about a young princess who kept her promise and ended up with her 'happily ever after' in ''The Frog Prince.''

6. The Frog Prince: Theme & Analysis
In this lesson, we'll analyze the themes of integrity, persistence, and justice from 'The Frog Prince' as told by the Brothers Grimm. This is the story of a princess who finds her prince in a frog.

7. The Ugly Duckling Activities
'The Ugly Duckling' is a wonderful story for teaching students to look beyond superficial markers and for helping them think about patience and development. The activities here will help your students think deeply about the story.

8. Hansel & Gretel Setting
In this lesson we will review the time period and locations in the story ''Hansel and Gretel.'' The historical setting, cottage, forest and witch's house will be examined and analyzed in coordination within the theme and characters of the story.

9. Hansel & Gretel: Themes & Analysis
The stories of the Brothers Grimm often present a dark look at humanity. In 'Hansel and Gretel,' the family is affected by greed. As a result, the children must become self-reliant to overcome physical threats and their own fears.

10. What is a Fable? - Examples & Morals
Think you can't learn a lesson from a short children's story? Think again! In this lesson, we'll learn more about what fables are and the purpose they achieve. We'll also take a look at a few popular fables.

11. Filipino Fables: Examples & Morals
Filipino fables teach important life lessons to their readers. In this lesson, we'll learn more about what fables are and check out a few examples of Filipino stories that use plants and animals to teach important morals.

12. What is a Fractured Fairy Tale? - Definition & Examples
Most of us heard about fractured fairy tales in elementary school. However, most of us learned about them wrong! This lesson will give a definition of a fractured fairy tale, give some examples, and explain the difference between fractured fairy tales and parodies.

13. Famous German Fairy Tales
If you want to talk fairy tales, you can't pass up those with German roots! In this lesson, we'll take a closer look at Germany's tie to these favorite stories and examine a few of the most famous tales.

14. The Frog Princess: Author, Summary & Characters
E.D. Baker's ''The Frog Princess'' (2002) borrows its story from the old fairy tale of the Frog Prince, but the 21st century version is very different. Let's look at how the author transforms the classic story with a modern twist.

15. Jack and the Beanstalk: Summary, Author & Origin
In this lesson, we will summarize the fairy tale 'Jack and the Beanstalk.' Further, we will discuss the origins of this famous children's story, including various less popular versions.

16. The History of Rumpelstiltskin
This lesson digs into the history behind the classic fairy tale ''Rumpelstiltskin.'' What does his name mean? How did the story transform between tellers and versions? Let's find out.

17. Hansel and Gretel Quotes
You can learn a lot about a person by what they say, and the same goes for characters in stories. In this lesson, we'll learn a little more about the Grimm Brothers' fairy tale, 'Hansel and Gretel,' by taking a look at some quotes from the story.

18. The Ugly Duckling Analysis
In this lesson, we will analyze the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale 'The Ugly Duckling.' This is a classic children's story about a young bird who is underestimated.

19. Malin Kundang: History & Myth
What could possibly cause a boy from a poor fishing village to become a stony reminder of bad behavior? In this lesson, you'll learn more about the history and myth of Indonesia's 'Malin Kundang.'
Earning College Credit
Did you know… We have over 200 college courses that prepare you to earn credit by exam that is accepted by over 1,500 colleges and universities. You can test out of the first two years of college and save thousands off your degree. Anyone can earn credit-by-exam regardless of age or education level.
To learn more, visit our Earning Credit Page
Transferring credit to the school of your choice
Not sure what college you want to attend yet? Study.com has thousands of articles about every imaginable degree, area of study and career path that can help you find the school that's right for you.
Other Chapters
Other chapters within the Fairy Tales & Fables: Study Guide & Homework Help course
- Studying Rumpelstiltskin
- Studying The Princess & The Pea
- Studying Thumbelina
- Studying Rapunzel
- Studying The Tortoise & the Hare
- Studying The Little Mermaid
- Studying The Fox & The Crow
- Studying The Ant & The Grasshopper
- Studying The Little Match Girl
- Studying The Twelve Dancing Princesses
- Studying Hans Christian Andersen
- Russian Fairy Tales & Folklore
- Studying Little Red Riding Hood