AppLit's Annotated Index of Appalachian Folktales

AppLit's Annotated Index of Appalachian Folktales with parallel tales from other traditions
AppLit Home Back to Folktale Bibliography Combined List of All Tales in Index Alphabetically			Tina L. Hanlon Notes on Index Entries Animal Tale Index
JACK TALES	TALES OF STRONG WOMEN AND GIRLS		NATIVE AMERICAN TALES
TALL TALES	FOOLS	OTHER TALES, BALLADS & LEGENDS	AFRICAN AMERICAN TALES
See also: WV Teaching Unit with audio tales and songs has sections on GHOSTS, HUMOR, and FOLK HEROES.
Notes: This Annotated Index contains bibliography pages (over eighty pages by 2007) on variants of individual tale types or groups of closely related tales. For bibliographies listing other Appalachian folktales, go to the Folktale Bibliography Index. The combined alphabetical list contains cross listings of additional tale titles that are not in the list of main entries below. See also the list of Folktale Collections Indexed in AppLit. Tale titles vary widely and these main index pages do not list the exact title of each picture book adaptation or tale in a collection that has parallels with a better known tale. JTA indicates a typed transcript of an oral folktale collected for the WPA, from the James Taylor Adams Collection, in the archives of the Blue Ridge Institute, Ferrum, VA. Some of those tales are reprinted in AppLit's Fiction and Poetry section. Notes on tale types refer to folktale and motif indexes by Aarne and Thompson, such as Aarne, Antti Amatus. The Types of the Folk-tale: A Classification and Bibliography. Transl. and enl. by Stith Thompson. Helsinki: Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, 1964, 1973. Some annotations but not all refer to tale type or motif numbers. See also references focus on comparable Appalachian tales. Compare with refers to parallel tales from other traditions. I.e., parallels with tales from other places are noted below the Appalachian variants, especially notes on the well known British versions of fairy tales collected by Joseph Jacobs (in books such as English Fairy Tales, 1898), and retellings by Andrew Lang in his series of colored Fairy Books (1889-1910). Many parallels with Grimm Brothers' tales are also noted. There are so many collections of folktales and other literature online that it is impossible to include all possible links on individual pages in this index. See Links to Online Texts for a list of Internet sources of folk literature. Heidi Ann Heiner's Sur La Lune Fairy Tale Pages and D. L. Ashliman's Folklore and Mythology Electronic Texts are other valuable web sites that list and reprint many variants of traditional tales. The term folktale is used very broadly in AppLit to include many kinds of folk narratives, including retellings and adaptations in books, recordings, dramas, and films. Some folk narratives found in ballads and songs are listed in these bibliographies. Our main emphasis is on literature and folklore for children and young adults, as well as other folktale collections for all ages. Please send corrections, additions, and suggestions to Tina L. Hanlon.
JACK TALES For background, see Wonder Tales in Appalachia - essay by Grace Toney Edwards, and Timeline of Appalachian Folktales. Big Man Jack, Killed Seven at a Whack - see Jack and the Varmints Cat 'n Mouse The Endless Tale - and - The Tale Without an End Foolish Jack - or - Jack and His Lump of Silver, and The Swapping Song Hardy Hardhead How Jack Got a New Shirt How Jack Got Tom To Do Will's Hard Work Jack and the Animals - see Jack and the Robbers Jack and the Bean Tree Jack and the Bull Jack and the Cat / Catherine - or - Jack and the Fox - see Cat 'n Mouse Jack and the Devil - see Wicked John and the Devil Jack and the Doctor's Girl Jack and the Fire Dragon Jack and the Flying Ship - see Hardy Hardhead Jack and the Frogs - or - The Three Feathers Jack and the Giants Jack and the Hainted House Jack and the Heifer Hide Jack and His Master - see Pretty Polly - or - Mister Fox Jack and King Marock Jack and the King's Girl (or King's Mountain) - and - Jack's First Job Jack and the Magic Mill - or - The Magic Sausage Mill Jack and the Miller's Daughter - see Mutsmag Jack and Mossyfoot Jack and the Northwest Wind Jack (or Merrywise) and Old Greasy Beard Jack and the Robbers - or - Jack and the Animals - or - Jack Goes to Seek his Fortune Jack and the Sop Doll - and - Other Tales with Cats and Witches Jack and the Tale without End - see The Endless Tale - and - The Tale Without an End Jack and the Three Sillies - or - Jack's Wife Jack and the Varmints - or - The Lion and the Unicorn Jack and the Witch's Tale - and - Gallymanders Jack Fear-No-Man Jack Plays The Banjo For Tom Jack's Daughter Annie - see The Farmer's Daughter Jack's First Job and Jack and the King's Girl Jack's Hunting Trips - see Deer Antlers and Peach Trees Mother Goose (a "Jack" Rhyme) Noteworthy Girls in Jack Tales Old Foster - see Pretty Polly - or - Mister Fox Old Stiff Dick - and - Stiff Dick - see Jack and the Varmints Quare Jack - see Jack and the Doctor's Girl Raglif Jaglif Tetartlif Pole - see Noteworthy Girls in Jack Tales Sheepskin - see The Farmer's Daughter Soldier Jack The Thieving Boy - see Jack and the Doctor's Girl The Three Little Pigs and the Fox (called one of the "Jack-'n-Will-'n-Tom tales" in Chase's Grandfather Tales) Whickety-Whack, Into My Sack - see Soldier Jack Wicked Jack - or - Wicked John and the Devil Students Write Jack Tales - with a number of tales by fourth graders See also Appalachian Picture Books: Jack Tales Top of Page
TALES OF STRONG WOMEN AND GIRLS General Notes Ashpet and Other Cinderella Variants The Babes in the Woods - and - The Two Lost Babes Cat 'n Mouse Catskins Cinderella's Slipper Dancing Drum - or- The Daughter of the Sun Death and the Old Woman (foolish, not brave woman) The Devil and the Farmer's Wife - see Wicked John and the Devil The Enchanted Tree - see The Frog King The Farmer's Daughter The First Fire - or - How the Water Spider Captured Fire The First Strawberries - or - First Man and First Woman Frankie Silver (true crime legend) The Frog King Gallymanders The Girl That Could Do Any Job of Work - see Ashpet The Girl Without Any Hands Granny's Gifts - see More Best-Loved Stories Told at the National Storytelling Festival The Hainted House Jack's Wife - or - Jack and the Three Sillies John Henry's Wife - see John Henry The Legend of the Cherokee Rose Like Meat Loves Salt Mad Ann Bailey Mister (or Tom) Fox - or - Pretty Polly Molly Fiddler - see Wicked John and the Devil (and list of other Anne Shelby Molly tales) Molly Mulhollun Mutsmag - or Munsmeg, Muncimeg, Mutzmag, Mut(t)s Mag, or Molly - and Other Girls Who Outwit Giants Nine Cat Tails - see Jack and the Northwest Wind Noteworthy Girls in Jack Tales Old One-Eye Omie Wise - see Pretty Polly - or - Mister Fox Polly Vaughn (audio files in WV teaching unit) The Poor Boy and Rich Girl Pretty Polly - or - Mister Fox (and other titles on escaping murdering suitors) The Princess in the Donkey Skin - see Catskins Rapunzel Rawhead and Bloodybones - see Gallymanders Rush Cape - and - Like Meat Loves Salt "Rumpelstiltskin" Adaptations Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett (and Davy Crockett) Selu (The Corn Mother) - or - The Coming of Corn The Snake Princess Snow White's Appalachian Descendants Swamp Angel The Three Little Pigs and the Fox (with girl pigs in a few variants) The Three Girls with the Journey-Cakes - see Mutsmag The Two Old Women's Bet Whitebear Whittington - or - The Three Gold Nuts - or - The Man that Turned Himself into a Bear Top of Page
FOOLS Note that many other tales contain a minor character or incident depicting foolish behavior, gullible characters who are easily tricked, silly and bizarre tricks, or main characters who are thought to be foolish at first. These tales contain some of the best examples of fools, noodleheads, or "sillies." Death and the Old Woman Dick and Dock - see Jack and the Three Sillies Fool Jack and the Talking Crow The Green Gourd Jack and the Giants (giants often quite foolish) Jack and the King's Girl (or King's Mountain) - and - Jack's First Job Jack and the Three Sillies - or - Jack's Wife The King and Old George Buchanan - see The Farmer's Daughter Old Dry Frye Old One-Eye Present Need, Bymeby, and Hereafter - see Jack and the Three Sillies Quare Jack - see Jack and the Doctor's Girl Sam and Sooky - see Jack and the Three Sillies Soap! Soap! Soap! The Swapping Song (and Foolish Jack - or - Jack and His Lump of Silver) The Three Foolish Bears - see Jack and the Three Sillies Three Sillies - see Jack and the Three Sillies - or - Jack's Wife The Two Old Women's Bet (foolish husbands) See also Harshman and Collins, Rocks in My Pocket, in Appalachian Folktale Picture Books Top of Page
OTHER TALES, BALLADS, AND LEGENDS Big Fraid and Little Fraid Billy Bobtail - see Jack and the Robbers Bobtail and the Devil - or - How Bobtail Beat the Devil - see Wicked John and the Devil The Boy Who Wanted Gold The Cat That Went A-Traveling - see Jack and the Robbers The Crow Song (folk song) Death and the Old Woman Down Come a Leg - see Jack and the Hainted House Fairy Stone Legend Freddy and his Fiddle - see Wicked Jack - or - Wicked John and the Devil Froggy Went A-Courting Gingerbread Boys and Runaway Cakes The Green Gourd Hansel and Gretel - see The Babes in the Woods and The Two Lost Babes The Haunted House - see also Jack and the Hainted House The Hunters and the Giant - see Jack and the Giants The Little Babes In The Woods - see The Two Lost Babes - and - The Babes in the Woods The Longest Tale - see The Endless Tale - and - The Tale Without an End Lord Randal The Magic Sausage Mill - or - Jack and the Magic Mill The Man and the Devil's Daughter - see Jack and King Marock The Man on the Moon - see Jack and the Bean Tree Merrywise - see Mutsmag and Jack (or Merrywise) and Old Greasy Beard My Golden Castle (folk ballad) Nippy and the Yankee Doodle - see Mutsmag The Old Man and His Seven Sons Old Scratch and the Mean Woman - see Wicked John and the Devil The One-Eyed Giant - see Jack and the Giants Runaway Cakes and Gingerbread Boys Snick and Snack - see Old Dry Frye Sody Sallyratus The Swapping Song (and Foolish Jack - or - Jack and His Lump of Silver) The Tailor and the Giants - see Jack and the Varmints Tailypo The Three Bears The Three Little Pigs and the Fox Through Thick and Thin Tim and the Magic Articles - see Jack and the Bean Tree and Gallymanders Tom Fox - see Pretty Polly - or - Mister Fox The Two Lost Babes - and - The Babes in the Woods Whistling Jimmy - see Jack and the Heifer Hide Willie and the Devil Top of Page
AFRICAN AMERICAN TALES IN APPALACHIA The Boy and the Ghost - see Jack and the Hainted House Brer Rabbit Tales Jack and the Dentist's Daughter (African American cast in Davenport film) John Henry (audio files in WV teaching unit) Little Eight John Tailypo Why Possum's Tale is Bare (Lyn Ford tale on this page under Related Appalachian Tales) Wicked John and the Devil See also Folklore in Books by Virginia Hamilton. See also, in Folktale Picture Book Bibliography, The Hired Hand by San Souci and Pinkney, and Mirandy and Brother Wind by McKissack and Pinkney. See also, in Appalachian Folktale Collections A-J, Affrilachian Tales by Lyn Ford, and Talking Treasures by Peggy Ann Griffin. Top of Page
NATIVE AMERICAN TALES FROM APPALACHIA The Animal Ball Game - or - How the Bat and the Flying Squirrel Got Their Wings Awi Usdi, The Little Deer Corn - see Selu and The Legend of the Corn Beads Dancing Drum - or- The Daughter of the Sun Fairy Stone Legend The First Fire - or - How the Water Spider Captured Fire The First Strawberries - or - First Man and First Woman Forever Boy - see The Little People How the Deer Got His Horns (or Antlers) - see Deer Antlers and Peach Trees How Rabbit Lost His Tail - or - How Rabbit Stole Otter's Coat The Ice Man Kanahena - or - Why the Turtle's Shell is Cracked The Legend of the Cherokee Rose and The Legend of the Corn Beads The Legend of the Milky Way The Little People Nunnehi, the Gentle People - see The Little People The Origin of Legends Pleiades and the Pine Tree The Rabbit and Old Flint - see The Little People The Rabbit, the Otter, and Duck Hunting Selu (the Corn Mother) and Kana'Ti (the Hunter) - or -The Origin of Corn and Game The Uktena Why the (O)Possum's Tale is Bare - or - How the Possum Lost His Tail See also Appalachian Picture Books with Cherokee Themes Top of Page
TALL TALES Davy Crockett and Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett John Henry (audio files in WV teaching unit) Mad Ann Bailey The Peach Tree and the Deer Pigeon Pie - see The Rabbit, the Otter, and Duck Hunting The Snake-Bit Hoe Handle Swamp Angel Tony Beaver (audio files in WV teaching unit) The Walking Catfish and Other Fish Tales See also Appalachian Picture Books: Tall Tales Note: Sometimes Jack Tales and other folktales with fantastic and exaggerated events are also referred to as tall tales. Top of Page

AppLit's Annotated Index of Appalachian Folktales

with parallel tales from other traditions