Many of us know Nature Spirits only through fairy tales. “Fairy tale” is the English name given to translations from such works as the German Marchen, French stories, Russian folktales, and the Scandinavian sagas. Even though many of these tales do not mention fairies, the name is well-established, and the tales are representations of real beliefs. A great number of the Grimm fairy tales belong to this genre. The stories are usually based on a formula comprised of many elements:

• The tale takes place in a never-never land.
• Supernatural events occur.
• The characters are often not named but are called King and Queen, the Third Son, or the Younger Daughter.
• If the characters are named, they are always very common first names.
• Recurrent motifs occur, even in tales from...

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