Note: This list contains links to tales that are also indexed in other sections of AppLit's Annotated Index of Folktales, links to texts reprinted in AppLit's Fiction and Poetry section, and some references to other items in AppLit's folktale bibliographies (but there are innumerable tales in which animals appear in large or small roles). Variants of the same tale may differ in whether animals appear in the same roles. Many animal folktales, especially Native American tales and tall tales, contain pourquoi or "why" plot lines—explaining the origins of animals' characteristics and other phenomena in nature and the universe. Many more animal tales are found in African American traditions. Some African American tales are indexed in AppLit, but AppLit does not do justice to the overlap of regional Appalachian literature or folklore and African American traditions in the Southern U. S. Tales with Animals as Main CharactersSee also Transformation Tales with enchanted people as main characters. The Animal Ball Game - or - How the Bat and the Flying Squirrel Got Their Wings Animal Tales (10 tales) in Old Greasybeard by Leonard Roberts - see Appalachian Folktale Collections Cherokee Animal Tales by Scheer - see Appalachian Folktale Collections The Crow Song (folk song) The First Fire - or - How the Water Spider Captured Fire How the Cricket Got its Churp - full text of tale by elementary student Drew Echols How the Porcupine Got His Quills - full text of tale by Jessica Faught in 7th grade How Rabbit Lost His Tail - or - How Rabbit Stole Otter's Coat How Rabbit Tricked Otter and Other Cherokee Animal Stories by Ross & Jacobs - see Appalachian Folktale Collections. Jack and the Robbers - or - Jack and the Animals - or - Jack Goes to Seek his Fortune Kanahena - or - Why the Turtle's Shell is Cracked Mountain Marbles: An Appalachian Tale - full text of tale by Tracy L. Roberts The Old Woman and her Pig by MacDonald - see Picture Book Bibliography The Pig Who Went Home on Sunday - see The Three Little Pigs and the Fox Puppet Plays by Fifth-Grade Students - full text of four plays about animals and Easter bunny The Rabbit and Old Flint - see The Cherokee Little People Rabbit Goes to Kansas - see The Animal Ball Game The Rabbit, the Otter, and Duck Hunting Runaway Cornbread - see Runaway Cakes and Gingerbread Boys Some Dog - see Mary Hamilton CD in Storytelling Films and Recordings The Three Foolish Bears - see Jack and the Three Sillies The Three Little Pigs and the Fox The Three Mice - see Runaway Cakes and Gingerbread Boys The Walking Catfish and Other Fish Tales Why the (O)Possum's Tale is Bare - or - How the Possum Lost His Tail See also Appalachian Picture Book Bibliography: Cherokee Tales See also two picture books by Lisa Horstman, on a black bear cub and salamanders, in Nature and the Environment in Appalachian Literature See also Paul Brett Johnson's trilogy of picture books about wayward animals, in Picture Book Bibliography. Tales with Animal-Human TransformationsThe Bear People - see Selu and Kana'Ti Dancing Drum - or- The Daughter of the Sun The Enchanted Tree - see The Frog King The Girl That Married a Flop-Eared Hound-Dog - see Whitebear Whittington Jack and the Frogs - or - The Three Feathers Mutsmag (Angelyn DeBord version has bewitched cat) Rabbit and the Bears by Duvall - see Appalachian Picture Book Bibliography: Cherokee Tales The Three Gold Nuts - full text of folktale told by Dicy Adams The Two Lost Babes (witch transforms into black cat) The Two Old Women's Bet (some variants have third husband pretending to be a dog) Whitebear Whittington - or - The Three Gold Nuts - or - The Man that Turned Himself into a Bear See also Campbell's Tales from the Cloud Walking Country in Appalachian Folktale Collections, for many transformation tales, including "Gilly and His Goatskin Clothes," "The Snake Princess," "Folks That Growed Fur to Keep Warm," "The Jay Bird That Had a Fight with a Rattlesnake," "The Cabbage Heads That Worked Magic," "The Donkey That Was a Boy," "The Boy That Had a Bear for a Daddy," "The Bird Liver," "The June Apple Tree," "My Favoritest Olden Tale," "The Changeable Man." See also Musick's Green Hills of Magic in Appalachian Folktale Collections for tales such as "The Bewitched Princess" (similar to "The Snake Princess") Tales with Animals as Magic or Comical HelpersNote: Many of the tales with animal main characters (above) also have animal antagonists and/or helpers. Ashpet and Other Cinderella Variants (hog as magic helper in Smoky Mountain Rose) Bearhide and Crow by P. B. Johnson - see Picture Book Bibliography and www.visitingauthors.com The Enchanted Tree - see The Frog King I Bought Me a Dog - see The Walking Catfish and Other Fish Tales Jack and the Bean Tree (Jack steals or recovers hen that lays golden eggs) Jack and the Christmas Beans - see Whitebear Whittington Jack and the Frogs - or - The Three Feathers Jack and the Bull - and - Jack and the Heifer Hide Jack and the Witch's Tale - see Jack and the Sop Doll Mutsmag (in some versions a fox or cat helps Mutsmag) The Orphan Boy and the Elk Dog, Cherokee tale in Yolen, Favorite Folktales – see Appalachian Folktales in General Collections Pretty Polly - or - Mister Fox (animal helper or antagonist in some variants) The Princess that Wore a Rabbit-Skin Dress - see Catskins Sody Sallyratus - and - The Bad Bear The Tinderbox (magic dogs help the hero) See also Campbell's Tales from the Cloud Walking Country in Appalachian Folktale Collections, for "The Three Girls with the Journey-Cakes," "The Snake Doctor," "The Witch from the Ocean Waters." Tales with Animals (Real or Mythical) as Antagonists or VillainsNote: Many of the tales with animal main characters (above) also have animal antagonists and/or helpers. "The Black Cat" - see Frank de Caro, The Folktale Cat, in Appalachian Folktales in General Collection Dakwa Ka-Plunk - see The Uktena The Gypsy and the Bear - see Jack and the Giants Jack and His Dogs - see Picture Book Bibliography: Jack Tales Jack and the Three Spiders - full text in Students Write Jack Tales Jack and the Varmints - or - The Lion and the Unicorn Musick's Green Hills of Magic has sections on Werewolves, Vampires, Dragons and Other Monsters - see Appalachian Folktale Collections Runaway Cakes and Gingerbread Boys Sody Sallyratus - and - The Bad Bear Tailypo (undefined scary creature gets revenge for loss of its tail) The Two Lost Babes (witch transforms into black cat) See also Appalachian Picture Book Bibliography: Tall Tales See also Campbell's Tales from the Cloud Walking Country in Appalachian Folktale Collections, for tales such as "The King of Spain's Magic Cow," and "The Contrarious Pig." Other Tales with Some Emphasis on AnimalsDick and Dock - see Jack and the Three Sillies The Endless Tale - and - The Tale Without an End - a mouse, rat, or locust removes one grain at a time in the endless tale Ferradiddledumday - full text of Appalachian adaptation of "Rumpelstiltskin" (characters are associated with Blue Ridge animals) Foolish Jack - or - Jack and His Lump of Silver, and The Swapping Song Jack and the Giants and Jack and the Varmints - or - The Lion and the Unicorn have braggart heroes who begin by killing flies. The Poor Boy and Rich Girl (people so poor they cook a bald eagle) Selu (the Corn Mother) and Kana'Ti (the Hunter) - or -The Origin of Corn and Game The Snake-Bit Hoe Handle - includes two books by May Justus, who wrote many realistic books about dogs besides the two that use this tall tale Last
update:
06/30/2008 |
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