What is the difference between a folk tale and a pourquoi tale?

Answer 1

A folk tale is sometimes also a pourquoi tale.

"Pourquoi" is French for "Why", and tells a made-up story to falsely explain how something real happened. Some folk tales are also pourquoi stories.

For instance, a pourquoi story might be titled, "How the Monkey's Tale was Made Long" [Because the monkey was naughty and tried to get away from Old Mother Nature, but she grabbed him by his short tail and it stretched out.]

or "How the Tiger got its Stripes " [The tiger got into a fight with the Great Saber-Tooth, himself. The scratches on the tiger's coat were so deep that they appeared on every tiger born after that day, and in beautiful orange, as the tiger was so brave.]

(Examples made up)

Answer 2

A folk tale is a traditional story passed down orally within a culture, often featuring supernatural elements or animals with human traits. A pourquoi tale is a type of folk tale that explains the origin of something in nature, like how an animal got its markings or why the sun rises and sets.