Folktale is a story originating in popular culture, typically passed on by word of mouth.

Their
popularity springs from their imaginative characters, their supernatural elements, their focus on
action, their simple sense of justice, their happy endings, and the fundamental wisdom they
contain.
Below are the most prevalent kinds of folktales (note that some folktales have characteristics of
two or more folktale categories):

1.   Animal tales are perhaps the oldest of all folktales. They are part myth, part fable, and part
fairy tales. They play significant roles in early stories and legends. Talking animals appear in
many European folktales. For example, “The Three Little Pigs” and “Little Red Riding Hood”.

2.   Wonder tales (also known as fairy tales) are the best known of the traditional folktales.
They are stories of supernatural wonders typically depicting the conflict between good and evil.
Most conclude with the triumph of virtue and a happy marriage. For example, “Cinderella”,
“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, “Sleeping Beauty” and “Jack and the Beanstalk”

3.   Cumulative tales are the ones in which successive additions are made to a repetitive plot
line. For example, “The Gingerbread Man” and “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”.

4.   Pourquoi tales (“pourquoi” means “why” in French) seeks to explain natural phenomena.

They provide primitive explanations for the many “why” questions early humans asked. They are
found throughout the world and especially popular in African and Native American folklore. For
example, “Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky” (from Southern Nigeria), “Where Stories
Come From” (from Zulu), and “Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears” (1976)

5.   Noodlehead tales are light-hearted tales about silly people doing silly things. These tales
are popular because of their pure nonsense and jocularity, and sometimes we enjoy the triumph
of the good-hearted simpleton over the craftier evil characters of the story. For example, “Hans
in Luck” by the Grimm brothers and “The Three Wishes” by Joseph Jacobs.  
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A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions perceived or
believed both by teller and listeners to have taken place within human history. 
In literature, the function of a legend is to present the story of human actions in such a way that
they are perceived by the audience to be true. Actions are presented as if they have taken place
within human history. For its audiences, a legend has to include happenings that are not outside
the realm of possibility, but it may include miracles. Change has certainly occurred in legends
over time, giving them a freshness, vitality, and a realistic taste. On the contrary, a large number
of legends function in the realm of uncertainty; neither believed, nor doubted by the audiences.

King Arthur, Beowulf, and Queen Boadicea are some popular English legends. However, it is
also important to understand that some of the stories about the Knights of the Round Table, and
Merlin the Magician may not be true. The common point between a myth and a legend is that
they both have been passed down from generation to generation in oral form.
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative that is shorter than a novel and longer than a
short story. The word ‘novella’ is also derived from the Italian word ‘novella’ meaning new.
Novellas were introduced to literature in the early Renaissance, but they began to be
established as a literary genre in the late 18th and early 19th century.
Ex: The Old Man and the Sea is a short novel written by the American author Ernest
Hemingway in 1951 in Cuba, and published in 1952. It was the last major work of fiction by
Hemingway that was published during his lifetime.