Illustrations of the fairy mythology of A midsummer night's dream.
Fairy tales, wonder tales, magic tales are a folklore genre taking the form of a short story that typically includes magical beings such as dragons, elves, fairies, giants, gnomes, goblins, griffins, mermaids, talking animals, trolls, unicorns, or witches. Generally, magic or enchantments are involved. Fairy tales are distinguished from legends, are mainly derived from European tradition and folk lore, and are generally children's literature. Mythology has a broader and older pedigree than fairy tales, dating back to ancient times in a number of European, African, Middle Eastern and Asian civilizations. Best known among these to Western audiences are Ancient Greek and Old Norse myths and legends. Generally, these myths and legends describe epic quests, journeys and interactions between human adventurers or heroes and god-like deities.