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Not as far as the Greek thing goes. I didn't read any Greek mythology, that I'm aware of, until high school...and I didn't really get it then, either! It didn't really click until I started teaching a class about Greek art to a bunch of sixth graders. Then I was totally hooked, and they were, too!

I've heard some of these, but others are new to me. What about these - If you flush food down the toilet snakes will crawl out of the sewer into your toilet and bite you. The drain in a swimming pool will suck you up if you touch it. If you swallow a cherry pit a tree will grow inside you.

True. It is one thing to alter a fictional story and completely another to alter historical facts. Facts should not be tampered with. If the story is not appropriate for younger viewers, then it should not be marketed at children.

Well, in an ideal world, I suppose that's how things would work. Parents would tell the stories to their children and adapt them as needed. The stories were part of an oral tradition anyways, not created to be written down. That's why there are so many different versions of the same basic story...

I was just wondering because they are so much a part of American culture, yet they are not commonly mentioned when discussing fairy tales, myths, or legends.

Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny Are Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny considered myths, fairy tales, or legends? Or could they possibly be all three?

It sounds vaguely familiar. I probably heard it in Girl Scouts. It is a good myth. I like the way the myths attempt to explain things that are so hard to grasp in the simplest terms.

That should be interesting. I've never heard anything about Indian mythology. There are a number of general themes that seem to be found in most cultures, but it's always interesting to see the many variations.

Very interesting, so much fuss about losing teeth! You would think that as the story evolved over the years braces would have made their way in there somehow.

The Tooth Fairy Ok, I know I'm a little old to be asking this, but I truely have no clue. Where does the Tooth Fairy live? I've never really heard the story. Is there a story?

I think it's also a good reminder that gifts can unleash "demons", so give with caution. For example, I know one teenage girl who gave her friend a pair of pierced earrings. Very nice earrings and the girl really liked them, but her mother wouldn't let her get her ears pierced until she was...

Too funny, Vivki2! I just had an interesting thought relating to another thread about foxes in fairy tales being sly and cunning. In the Disney version, Robin Hood is a fox. Robin Hood is both sly and cunning, but for good reasons. So maybe disney was on to something there. Sly and cunning...

Now there's an interesting thought, Plumley. It makes me wonder what kind of stories would be written about our government today and what people would think of them in a couple hundred years.

I guess I'm relating more to Snow White waiting for her prince to come right now, but Cinderella is still my favorite. I like the message of hope that even the most unhappy circumstances can change in a moment for the better.

I would say it is a fairy tale. A giant, magic beans, castle in the sky, goose laying golden eggs...doesn't get much better than that.

I think Disney is in a league of it's own. The original fairy tales were not even written down, just passed down orally from generation to generation way before the movies. So then Disney comes along and tries to put these ancient tales on the big screen and some things just don't work. It makes...

I don't have foxes roaming through my backyard either. But a number of people like to hunt them, so foxes must be cunning and sly enough to make a sport of it.

They really are quite common. I've even seen TV commercials based on them. Anytime a story comes right out and states, "And the moral of the story is..." it's most likely from Aesop. I think all cultures have stories that are somewhat similar to Aesops. The morals are the same but the details...

It is rather ironic, isn't it? I mean, these stories were passed down for generations to teach children about growing up and life in general and now some people want to change them because they are not always so sweet. Well, isn't that the whole point? Life isn't always sweet. Most kids know...

I think the tales of Robin Hood are probably a lot like Santa Clause. Both real people who did something out of the ordinary to help the poor, but whose actions were highly exaggerated. A good reminder of the dangers of gossip.