Folktale Writing: How to Write a Folktale, Trickster Tale and Pourquoi Tale
Long before anyone wrote stories down, people told them around fires, in markets and at bedtime. Those stories travelled from grandparent to grandchild for centuries, changing a little with every telling. These are folktales, and almost every traditional story a child meets, from Aesop’s fables to Cinderella, grows from them. This folktale writing guide shows how to write a folktale step by step, with a special focus on the two kinds children are most often asked to write at school: the trickster tale, in which a small, clever character outwits a powerful one, and the pourquoi tale, which explains why something in nature is the way it is.
Key Takeaways • A folktale is a traditional story passed down by word of mouth within a culture, usually with simple characters, repetition and a lesson. • Fables, fairy tales, tall tales, legends, myths, trickster tales and pourquoi tales all belong to the folktale family. • A trickster tale shows a small, clever character outwitting a bigger, stronger or greedier one. • A pourquoi tale (from the French for “why”) explains how something in nature came to be, and ends with “And that is why...”. • Folktales sound best read aloud: use a traditional opening, repetition and the rule of three. |
In This Guide 1. What Is a Folktale? 2. The Folktale Family 3. Features of a Folktale 4. Trickster Tales 5. Pourquoi Tales 6. Folktale Structure 7. How to Write a Folktale in 6 Steps 8. Two Model Folktales 9. Folktales Around the World 10. Folktales in High School Literature 11. Mistakes and Checklist 12. Wisdom Point Live Classes 13. 16 Prompts 14. FAQs |
Curriculum Alignment US Common Core: RL.2.2 and RL.3.2 (recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine the central message), RL.4.9 and RL.5.9 (compare and contrast similar themes and patterns of events in stories, myths and traditional literature from different cultures), and W.2.3 to W.5.3 (narrative writing). These skills appear in state assessments such as Texas STAAR, the New Jersey NJSLA and Smarter Balanced. UK Key Stage 1 and 2 and Cambridge Primary English: reading, retelling and writing traditional tales from different cultures; recognising patterns and repeated language. |
What Is a Folktale?
A folktale is a traditional story passed down by word of mouth long before it was written down. Folktales usually have simple characters, often animals or ordinary people, use repetition and patterns of three, reflect the values of the culture that told them, and often teach a lesson or explain the world.
Because folktales were spoken, they are built to be remembered: short, repetitive, with characters you can describe in one word. That is also what makes them perfect first stories for young writers.
The Folktale Family: Fables, Fairy Tales, Myths and More
Quick answer: Folktale is the umbrella term for traditional stories. Fables teach a stated moral, fairy tales centre on magic, tall tales exaggerate a hero’s feats, legends are linked to real people or places, myths explain the world through gods and heroes, trickster tales show cleverness winning, and pourquoi tales explain why things in nature are the way they are
.
Type | What makes it different | Example |
Fable | A short story with a stated moral | The Tortoise and the Hare |
Fairy tale | Magic, enchantment and a happy ending | Cinderella |
Tall tale | A hero with wildly exaggerated feats | Paul Bunyan |
Legend | Linked to a real person, place or event | Robin Hood |
Myth | Explains the world through gods and heroes | Persephone and the seasons |
Trickster tale | A small, clever character outwits a powerful one | Anansi stories |
Pourquoi tale | Explains why something in nature is the way it is | How the Leopard Got His Spots |
We have separate guides to fable writing and fairy tale writing. Tall tales, legends and myths follow in this series.
Features of a Folktale
Feature | Why it matters | Example |
A traditional opening | Signals a story from long ago | “Long, long ago...”; “Once, when the world was young...” |
Simple, one-trait characters | Easy to remember and retell | The greedy pelican; the clever crab |
Repetition and the rule of three | Builds rhythm for listeners | Three dunes, three refusals, three tests |
A cultural setting | Reflects the people who told it | A shore, a savannah, a mountain village |
A lesson or explanation | Passes on values or answers a question | Cleverness beats greed; why owls stay awake |
A closing formula | Rounds the story off for listeners | “And that is why...” |
Trickster Tales: How a Small Character Wins
Quick answer: A trickster tale is a folktale in which a clever, often small or weak character uses wit and trickery to outsmart a bigger, stronger or greedier opponent. Sometimes the trickster’s own trick backfires, which teaches a lesson about pride.
Trickster | Tradition | Typical trick |
Anansi the spider | West African (Akan) and Caribbean folktales | Outwits larger animals to win the world’s stories |
Br’er Rabbit | African American folktales | Talks his way out of capture by asking not to be thrown into the briar patch |
Coyote | Many Native American traditions | Clever, but his schemes often backfire on him |
Reynard the Fox | Medieval European tales | Fools the lion’s court with flattery and lies |
How to write one: pick a small trickster and a powerful opponent with an obvious weakness (greed, pride, laziness). Let the opponent hold power unfairly. Then build a trick that uses the opponent’s own weakness against them, so that the victory feels earned rather than lucky.
Pourquoi Tales: Stories That Explain Why
Quick answer: A pourquoi tale is a folktale that explains why something in nature is the way it is, such as why the sky is high or why the zebra has stripes. It shows how things were once different, describes the event that changed them, and ends with a line such as “And that is why...”.
Pourquoi is French for “why”. Classic examples include Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories (1902), such as How the Leopard Got His Spots, and Verna Aardema’s retelling of a West African tale, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears, which won the Caldecott Medal in 1976.
How to write one: choose a feature of nature (the owl’s big eyes, the tortoise’s cracked shell, the moon’s phases). Imagine a time when it was different. Invent an event, usually caused by a character’s choice, that changed it forever. Close with “And that is why...”.
Folktale Structure
Quick answer: Most folktales follow five stages: a traditional opening that sets the scene, a problem or unfair situation, a pattern of attempts or events (often three), a turning point caused by a character’s choice or trick, and an ending that teaches a lesson or explains why.
Stage | Trickster tale | Pourquoi tale |
1. Opening | The powerful character holds an unfair advantage | Things were once different |
2. Problem | The small characters suffer | A character faces a choice or need |
3. Pattern | The trickster watches, plans, sets the trap | Three characters respond; the third is different |
4. Turning point | The trick uses the villain’s own weakness | The choice causes a lasting change |
5. Ending | Fairness restored; sometimes a pourquoi coda | “And that is why...” |
How to Write a Folktale in 6 Steps
Quick answer: Choose the type of folktale, pick a setting from the natural world, create simple characters with one trait each, build a pattern of three, write the turning point, then finish with a traditional closing line and read the story aloud.
Step 1: Choose your type
Decide whether you are writing a trickster tale (cleverness wins), a pourquoi tale (explaining why) or a general folktale with a lesson. Each needs a slightly different ending.
Step 2: Pick a natural setting
Folktales belong to real landscapes: a dry shore, a mountain village, a riverbank, a desert. Choose one and describe it in a sentence or two.
Step 3: Create one-trait characters
Give each character a single, clear trait: the greedy pelican, the clever crab, the vain owl. Folktale characters do not need complex backstories.
Step 4: Build a pattern of three
Three refusals, three dunes, three attempts. Repetition gives the story rhythm, and the third time should be different.
Step 5: Write the turning point
In a trickster tale, this is the trick. In a pourquoi tale, it is the choice that changes nature forever. Make sure it comes from a character’s action, not chance.
Step 6: Close the story and read it aloud
End with a traditional line (“And that is why...”, “And from that day on...”) and read the story aloud. Folktales were made to be heard; if it does not sound right, it is not finished.
From Our Online Classroom: The Pourquoi Tale With No “Why” A Grade 3 student in Auckland wrote a pourquoi tale for his Wisdom Point educator, Khusboo, about a hedgehog who went on a long journey through the garden, met a blackbird, a snail and a cat, and went home. It was full of lovely description, but it never explained anything. Khusboo asked him one question: “What is the hedgehog like now that it wasn’t like before?” He thought, and said, “It has spines.” That became the heart of his story: the soft-furred hedgehog borrows thorns from a rose bush to guard the blackbird’s nest from the cat, and “that is why, to this day, the hedgehog wears a coat of thorns.” One question turned a journey into a pourquoi tale, with a real reason at its centre. |
Folktale Examples: Two Annotated Models
Model 1: A Pourquoi Tale for Grades 2 to 4
Why the Owl Stays Awake at Night Model 1: a short pourquoi tale for Grades 2 to 4 Long, long ago, Owl slept at night like every other bird, and she was the proudest singer in the forest of the hills. [1] One evening, Moon came down to the treetops and asked the birds a favour. “I am lonely up there all night,” she said. “Who will keep me company?” [2] Robin said she needed her sleep. Sparrow said the night was too cold. Owl said nothing at all, because she was busy admiring her own feathers in the river. [3] Then Owl looked up and saw that Moon was crying silver tears. She felt ashamed. “I will stay awake with you,” she said, “every night, for as long as you shine.” [4] Moon was so grateful that she gave Owl two great round eyes, as bright as her own, to see in the dark. And that is why, to this day, the owl sleeps in the day and keeps the moon company all night long. [5] (154 words) |
Marker | What it does |
[1] | A traditional opening and how things were once different (Owl slept at night). |
[2] | The problem: Moon is lonely and needs help. |
[3] | The pattern of three: Robin, Sparrow and Owl, with Owl’s trait (vanity) shown. |
[4] | The turning point: Owl chooses kindness over pride. |
[5] | The change, the reward and the classic closing: “And that is why...” |
Model 2: A Trickster Tale for Grades 4 to 8
Little Crab and the Pelican’s Pool
Model 2: an original trickster tale for Grades 4 to 8 In the driest summer anyone could remember, only one pool was left on the long, flat shore, and Pelican sat beside it. “My pool,” he told the fish, the shrimp and the crabs. “One fish a day to swim in it, or swim in the sand.” [1] Every day the creatures paid. Every day Pelican grew fatter. And every day Little Crab, who was the smallest creature on the shore and the cleverest, watched and thought. [2] One morning, Little Crab scuttled up to Pelican, puffing and wide-eyed. “Have you heard?” she gasped. “Behind the third dune there is a pool as wide as the sky, crowded with the fattest fish in the sea. The gulls are flying there now. By noon there will be nothing left.” [3] Pelican’s eyes gleamed. He looked at his small, crowded pool. He looked at the dunes. “Guard my pool,” he ordered, and he flapped away towards the third dune as fast as his heavy wings would carry him. Behind the third dune there was only more sand. Behind the fourth dune, sand. Behind the fifth, sand, and a hot wind laughing over it. [4] When Pelican finally dragged himself back at sunset, the pool was full of creatures swimming freely, and Little Crab had written in the wet sand, in large, careful letters: EVERYONE’S POOL. The fish waved their fins. The shrimp flicked their tails. Pelican opened his beak to shout, but he was far too tired. [5] And that is why, people on that shore still say, the pelican carries its own fish in a pouch under its beak: so that it never again has to ask the small creatures for anything. [6] (275 words) |
Why This Trickster Tale Works
Marker | What it does |
[1] The unfair situation | A powerful character (Pelican) controls a resource and exploits the small creatures. |
[2] The trickster | Little Crab is the smallest and cleverest; she watches before she acts. |
[3] The trick | It uses Pelican’s own weakness, greed, against him. |
[4] The pattern of three | Third dune, fourth, fifth: the repetition stretches Pelican’s humiliation. |
[5] Fairness restored | The pool is shared; the image of the words in the sand gives the victory a visible symbol. |
[6] Pourquoi coda | A trickster tale that ends with a “why” explanation, as many traditional tales do. |
Both model stories are original and written for this guide.
Folktales Around the World
Reading folktales from different cultures shows children how the same patterns appear everywhere. Common Core RL.4.9 asks students to compare exactly this.
Folktales in High School Literature
Folktales do not stay in primary school. Major novelists weave them into their work, and analysing why is a rewarding high school task. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958), a staple of Grade 10 world literature, a mother tells her daughter the Igbo tale of the tortoise who tricked the birds, a story that echoes the novel’s themes of pride and its consequences. The anthropologist and novelist Zora Neale Hurston collected African American folktales in Mules and Men (1935), and that oral storytelling tradition shapes the voice of her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God.
High school writing task: write a short story (800 to 1,200 words) in which one character tells another a folktale at a key moment. The folktale should comment on what is happening in the main story. Then write a 200-word commentary explaining the connection, as you would when analysing Achebe.
Common Folktale Writing Mistakes and Checklist
❌ Mistake | ✅ Fix |
A pourquoi tale that never explains why | Decide what changed and show the moment it changed. |
A trickster who wins by luck | Base the trick on the opponent’s weakness. |
Complicated characters | One trait per character. |
No repetition | Build a pattern of three. |
A modern, chatty voice | Use a traditional opening and storyteller’s rhythm. |
Borrowing a sacred story from a culture you do not know | Write an original tale, or retell a published folktale and name its source. |
Folktale writing checklist
Check | ✓ |
A traditional opening and a natural setting |
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Characters with one clear trait each |
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A pattern of three |
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A turning point caused by a choice or a trick |
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A lesson, or an explanation of why |
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A traditional closing line |
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Read aloud and revised for rhythm |
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What Your Child Learns in Wisdom Point Live Classes (That This Guide Cannot Teach)
A guide can explain the rule of three. It cannot listen to your child tell a story aloud. In a live, one-to-one Wisdom Point class, your child works with a Wisdom Point educator on the parts of folktale writing that only happen in real time:
• Storytelling aloud: the Wisdom Point educator listens as your child tells the tale, and shows where the rhythm and repetition land.
• Building the trick: educator and student test the trickster’s plan together until it is clever, fair and surprising.
• Finding the “why”: for pourquoi tales, your child learns to turn a curious question about nature into a story with a real cause.
• Folktales from many cultures: your child compares tales from different traditions, including their own family’s stories, with respect and curiosity.
• Their own folktale: every story starts from your child’s world, whether a favourite animal, a landscape they love or a question they have always wondered about.
• Feedback for your child’s school: targets matched to their own curriculum, whether Common Core, Cambridge, IGCSE or CBSE, and to their next assessment.
Every Wisdom Point class ends with a finished piece your child is proud of and a clear next step. That is the difference a live class makes.
16 Folktale Writing Prompts for Grades 2 to 10
Tier 1: Pourquoi Tales (Grades 2 to 4)
1. Why the zebra has stripes.
2. Why the tortoise carries its house on its back.
3. Why the sea is salty.
4. Why the rooster crows at sunrise.
5. Why the moon changes shape.
6. Why the giraffe has such a long neck.
Tier 2: Trickster Tales (Grades 4 to 7)
7. A mouse outwits a cat who has taken over the farm’s grain store.
8. A hummingbird tricks an eagle who claims to own the sky.
9. A tiny frog persuades a crocodile to let the animals cross the river.
10. A trickster’s plan backfires and teaches them a lesson about pride.
11. A clever child outwits a greedy merchant at a market.
12. Write a new adventure for Anansi the spider, in the style of the traditional tales.
Tier 3: Extended Folktales (Grades 8 to 10)
13. Write a story in which a character tells a folktale that mirrors their own situation.
14. Retell a published folktale from your own heritage, naming its source, then write a modern version.
15. Write a trickster tale set in a modern school, workplace or city.
16. Write a pourquoi tale explaining something in modern life, such as why phones always run out of battery.
Folktale Writing: Frequently Asked Questions
What is a folktale?
A folktale is a traditional story passed down by word of mouth within a culture before it was written down. Folktales usually have simple characters, repetition and patterns of three, and often teach a lesson or explain the world.
What are the characteristics of a folktale?
The characteristics of a folktale are a traditional opening, simple characters with one trait, repetition and the rule of three, a cultural setting, a lesson or explanation, and a traditional closing line.
What is a trickster tale?
A trickster tale is a folktale in which a small or clever character uses tricks to outwit a bigger, stronger or greedier opponent. Famous tricksters include Anansi the spider, Br’er Rabbit and Coyote.
What is a pourquoi tale?
A pourquoi tale is a folktale that explains why something in nature is the way it is, such as why the leopard has spots. It usually ends with a line beginning “And that is why...”.
What is the difference between a folktale and a fairy tale?
Folktale is the broad term for any traditional story passed down orally. A fairy tale is one type of folktale, focused on magic, enchantment and a happy ending.
How do you write a folktale for school?
Choose a type (trickster or pourquoi), set it in a natural landscape, give each character one trait, build a pattern of three, create a turning point from a character’s choice or trick, and end with a traditional closing line.
Your Next Step
Choose a prompt, decide whether it is a trickster tale or a pourquoi tale, and plan your pattern of three before writing. Read your folktale aloud to someone at home, then check it against the checklist. For the shorter, moral-driven cousin of the folktale, see our guide to fable writing; for puzzles and clues, try mystery writing. Next in this series: tall tale writing. Every guide is in the Wisdom Point blog library.
Book a Wisdom Point live creative writing class Wisdom Point’s one-to-one creative writing programme helps students in Grades 2 to 12 write folktales, fables, fairy tales, adventures and mysteries with a dedicated Wisdom Point educator, live online, for families in the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Dubai, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia. Your child’s first session includes a short writing assessment and a personal plan. Book a free assessment: call or WhatsApp +91 82405 56421 or visit www.wisdom-point.org. |
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