A story is a fiction story whose extension is reduced. Traditional , for its part, is that linked to the tradition (custom or habit).
The notion of traditional story refers to the narrative whose authorship is generally unknown, which it is transmitted from generation to generation orally . These anonymous stories usually have several versions .
Traditional tales, originally, were spread word of mouth. Over time, the stories ended up being collected in books, adapting to the printed format. This allowed the stories to remain in force throughout the history .
A example traditional story is "The cat with boots" . This story first appeared in a book in the century XVI , compiled by Giovanni Francesco Straparola . Over the years he had very popular versions written by authors such as Giambattista Basile and Charles Perrault .
This traditional story tells how a cunning cat helps to make a miller's son a millionaire. The young man had inherited the animal from his father: just when he was thinking about eating it, the cat asked for a pair of boots and a bag to show him that he could make him rich. Thus, after a series of deceptions, the feline transforms the poor boy into the Marquis of Carabás and manages to marry the king's daughter.
Every region It has its own traditional tales. Also called folk tales or folk tales , are usually aimed at children and often include a moral. The values of a community, on the other hand, are disseminated through these types of stories.
In recent times, many of the traditional tales that had accompanied dozens of generations they have undergone important changes in their plots, especially in their endings, with the aim of making them "less tragic". In other words, most stories of this type have - today - a happy ending although in its origins it was very different.
Take the case of red Riding Hood , a traditional story known to millions of people around the world, which has had versions in cartoons and movies, in addition to the mandatory books printed, both with full color illustrations and pure text. How does this story end? As the answer changes according to the generation of the person who responds.
Until a few decades ago, the fierce wolf ate the grandmother as soon as he entered his house by force, put on his clothes and waited for Little Red Riding Hood, who also swallowed after the mythical dialogue :
-Grandma, what bigger teeth you have! -To eat you better…
On the other hand, there is a version in which the wolf encloses the old woman in a closet and fails to eat Little Red Riding Hood, since she manages to escape on time and meets a hunter, who kills the wolf and saves his two victims . Over the years, these and other elements have combined to adapt this traditional story to the "needs" of the different regions, and little by little the violence was made up to avoid all the deaths : Today, the wolf doesn't even die.
This tendency to "soften" the end of traditional stories does nothing but deprive new generations of valuable teachings that once received their elders. A final Happy teaches us that everything is possible, that no matter how much we are wrong, we will always achieve our goals, and needless to say, life is not like that. Fortunately, many people in the world of literature are working to recover the original versions, with everything and their tragic endings.
