Fairy tale

Fairy tale, tale involving fantastic events and characters, not necessarily fairies. Many originate in myth and folklore, but an equal number have been written for adults, among them those by Charles Perrault, the brothers Grimm, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and Hans Christian Andersen. Modern writers J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis incorporated fairy-tale elements in their works.

See also: Folklore.