The word 'Tale' means history, or an interesting account of an incident or a piece of information. An account of a man's life, or his conduct, or a fictional description is also called a tale. The Tamils, generally referred to literary accounts in prose or in poetic form, oral or written similar to those mentioned above, as tales. Ancient myths in the form of songs were also called Tales.

For the convenience of study and research, literature has been classified into different types. New words have been coined to refer to these types, that which was written by and for scholars, was called academic literature. That which was produced by common men and handed down by oral tradition, was called folk literatures. Ancient stories nomadic accounts, village tales and grandfather's tales, are other names given to folk tales, which are characterized by their narrative style.

A typical feature of a folk tale is that it may have several versions. This is because improvisations were made in narration, as they were handed down orally. What are the different types of tales? Stories related to the origin of the universe, the sun and the moon and the various gods, were called tales of origin. (Thottakathaikal). Some tales dealt with the how and why of different things. They were called tales of reason, or Karanakathaikal. Some others expressed the philosophy of life and were called moral tales or Neethikathaikal.

We shall now see why and how these tales came to be collected. The Europeans realized that they would be able to rule their colonies better only if they understood properly, the people who lived there then. They began to collect their folk tales. Missionaries who came to spread their religion also felt the need to understand the people of that region and hence began to collect there folk tales, The Indians started to study and do research on these folk tales because of their patriotic fervour and the need to preserve their culture and tradition. It was Natesa Shastri who pioneered the process of collection of these folk tales, because he wanted to assist the British.

What is the use of such tales? They serve to tell us something about the people who lived and created them. They are especially useful to children, as they help to develop their memory power and their creativity. Fables also serve as illustrations of certain truths, as they carry a moral. Though the word 'tales' brings to our mind children's stories, tales not only form part of literature but are worthy of serious study and serve various purposes.