Where do Fairy Tales come from?

Yesterday I read in Nortons Anthology of Childrens Literature that fairy tales started as folk tales. This got me thinking. I thought about how fairy tales are similar to and different from folklore, myth, legend and classical tales. There are many words that are used in relation to the word folk tales. One word is folklore. Folklore means traditional beliefs, customs and stories of a community passed through the generations by word of mouth. It refers to the traditional beliefs, customs and stories of community that are passed down orally from one generation to another. It encompasses a wide range of cultural expressions such as folk tales, myths, proverbs, dances and songs which reflect the collective memory and experiences of a people over time. Another word used in this connection is myth. A myth is a traditional story especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomena and typically involving supernatural beings or events. A legend is a very old and popular story that may be true. Classical tales relate to ancient greek or latin literature or culture. Typically it is a form of art regarded as representing an examplary standard traditional and long established in form or style. Another word is tourbador. A tourbador is a wandering minstrel who sings lyric poetry most commonly in the south of France. This too falls in that category, I guess. Imagine a cold autumn evening. An entire village or neighborhood gather around a community fire. Chestnuts roasting in an open fire kind of scenario. The oldest person in the group tells a story. People listen. Ask questions. Towards the end of the story session people may feel sleepy. The imagination of children and grownups is captivated by the story and as they walk back they think about the story they heard. Years later the child in this group becomes the one who tells the story from memory. This generation to generation handing down of stories would have continued through several generations. Enter rumble of change. Johann Gutenberg invents the printing press in Germany. Someone takes the leadership in gathering all the stories in one place--a book. It could be Hans Christian Anderson. or the Brothers Grimm. Cindrella, Snow White, Snow White and Rose Red, Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood. The list goes on an on. Now children read the same stories that their great great grandparents heard from an old person from a book. It is the same story that started being told centuries ago. These folk tales started in the minds of the people. It became part of the collective imagination of an entire culture. It is the same with myth or mythology. It is the same with legend. Now community life as people used to experience it is no longer there. Perhaps book clubs and online book discussion groups take the place of an entire neighborhood sitting around a fire listening to an old person tell stories. .