What is a Fairy tale?

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The elements of a fairy tales are stories that has magic and fantasy at every turn in the story. They begin with “Once upon a time..” and display feats that shows the extents for human imagination. Fairy tales have an end goal or an objective set for the protagonist to complete. Fairy tales have magic in them at every turn making appear only normal that there are talking animals in the forest or magic jewels that grant wishes. These stories differ from legends and myths because they use exaggerations to build on a true story. While in a fairy tale the magic comes from the human brain and how far their imagination goes. That being said there are certain motifs or tropes that the human mind unconsciously follows such as a fair princess being saved by a prince. Including a sorcerer as means to advance the plot by giving the prince a sacred piece of knowledge he needs to succeed. Or giving the protagonist a quest to do to prove his worth. They also might have the protagonist come just in time to save the day, or have other happy coincidences. That is why my definition of a fairy tale is a story that shows the imagination of the human mind and in the end shows a much deeper interpretation of social issues. Like in the story known to most as sleeping beauty the 100 year represents the wait one needs to mature. 

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