Fairy tale

A fairy tale (pronounced /ˈfeəriˌteɪl/) is a type of short story that typically features European folkloric fantasy characters, such as dwarves, elves, fairies, giants, gnomes, goblins, mermaids, trolls, or witches, and usually magic or enchantments. Fairy tales may be distinguished from other folk narratives such as legends (which generally involve belief in the veracity of the events described) and explicitly moral tales, including beast fables.

In less technical contexts, the term is also used to describe something blessed with unusual happiness, as in "fairy tale ending" (a happy ending) or "fairy tale romance" (though not all fairy tales end happily). Colloquially, a "fairy tale" or "fairy story" can also mean any far-fetched story or tall tale; it is used especially of any story that not only is not true, but could not possibly be true. Legends are perceived as real; fairy tales may merge into legends, where the narrative is perceived both by teller and hearers as being grounded in historical truth. However, unlike legends and epics, they usually do not contain more than superficial references to religion and actual places, people, and events; they take place once upon a time rather than in actual times.

Fairy Tail

Fairy Tail (Japanese: フェアリーテイル, Hepburn: Fearī Teiru) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiro Mashima. It has been published in Weekly Shōnen Magazine since August 2, 2006, and has been published by Kodansha in 53 tankōbon volumes; the individual chapters are being published in tankōbon volumes by Kodansha, with the first released on December 15, 2006, and the 53rd volume released on January 15, 2016. Fairy Tail follows the adventures of Lucy Heartfilia, a teenage wizard (魔導士, madōshi), who joins the popular wizards' guild and teams up with fellow guild member Natsu Dragneel as he searches for the dragon Igneel.

The chapters have been adapted into an anime series produced by A-1 Pictures and Satelight, which began broadcasting in Japan in 2009. Additionally, A-1 Pictures and Satelight have developed seven original video animations and an animated feature film, Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess. The series ended its initial run on March 30, 2013. However, on March 4, Mashima announced on his Twitter account that the anime would not end yet, and confirmed on July 11 that a sequel series was greenlit. The new series premiered on TV Tokyo on April 5, 2014. An anime adaptation for Fairy Tail Zero has been announced for January 2016.

Snow White

"Snow White" is a German fairy tale known across much of Europe and is today one of the most famous fairy tales worldwide. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection Grimms' Fairy Tales. It was titled in German: Sneewittchen (in modern orthography Schneewittchen) and numbered as Tale 53. The Grimms completed their final revision of the story in 1854.

The fairy tale features such elements as the magic mirror, the poisoned apple, the glass coffin, matricide, filicide, and the characters of the Evil Queen, Snow White's evil stepmother, the huntsman, a beautiful princess named Snow White into a sleeping enchantment, a handsome prince and the seven dwarfs. The seven dwarfs were first given individual names in the 1912 Broadway play Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and then given different names in Walt Disney's 1937 film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The Grimm story, which is commonly referred to as "Snow White", should not be confused with the story of "Snow White and Rose Red" (in German "Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot"), another fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm.

Snow Fairy

Snow Fairy (foaled 12 February 2007) is a retired Thoroughbred racehorse who was bred in Ireland and trained in England by Ed Dunlop. She made little impression on the racecourse as a two-year-old, winning only one race out of six. She started her three-year-old season well, winning a listed race. Snow Fairy then started the Epsom Oaks at 12/1. Ridden by Ryan Moore, she won by a neck. Again ridden by Moore, she won the Irish Oaks easily. When taking on older horses for the first time in the Yorkshire Oaks, she finished second to Midday. Following a run in the St Leger, she went to Japan and won the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup followed by the Hong Kong Cup. As a four-year-old in 2011, she won the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup for a second time, but also placed in a number of top races, including third in the Arc de Triomphe and second in the Irish Champion Stakes. She stayed in training for the 2012 season and won the G1 Prix Jean Romanet at Deauville in August (later disqualified), and then the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown in September.

Tail

The tail is the section at the rear end of an animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, reptiles, and birds. While tails are primarily a feature of vertebrates, some invertebrates including scorpions and springtails, as well as snails and slugs, have tail-like appendages that are sometimes referred to as tails. Tailed objects are sometimes referred to as "caudate" and the part of the body associated with or proximal to the tail are given the adjective "caudal".

Function

Animal tails are used in a variety of ways. They provide a source of locomotion for fish and some other forms of marine life. Many land animals use their tails to brush away flies and other biting insects. Some species, including cats and kangaroos, use their tails for balance; and some, such as New World monkeys and opossums, have what are known as prehensile tails, which are adapted to allow them to grasp tree branches.