Editing Fairy tale (section)

==Terminology==
Some [[folkloristics|folklorists]] prefer to use the [[Germany|German]] term {{lang|de|Märchen}} or "wonder tale"<ref name=companion/> to refer to the genre rather than ''fairy tale'', a practice given weight by the definition of Thompson in his 1977 [1946] edition of ''The Folktale'':
{{quote|"...a tale of some length involving a succession of [[motif (literature)|motifs]] or episodes. It moves in an unreal world without definite locality or definite creatures and is filled with the marvellous. In this never-never land, humble [[hero]]es kill adversaries, succeed to kingdoms and marry princesses."{{Sfn|Thompson|1977|p=8}}}}

The characters and motifs of fairy tales are simple and archetypal: [[Princess|princesses]] and [[Goose Girl|goose-girls]]; [[youngest son]]s and gallant [[Prince|princes]]; [[ogre]]s, [[giant (mythology)|giants]], [[dragon]]s, and [[troll]]s; [[wicked stepmother]]s and [[false hero]]es; [[fairy godmother]]s and other [[donor (fairy tale)|magical helpers]], often [[talking animal|talking horses, or foxes, or birds]]; glass mountains; and prohibitions and breaking of prohibitions.{{Sfn|Byatt|2004|p=xviii}}