These past couple of months have been a feast for storytelling in northern Utah:  three festivals, a conference with national presenters, and numerous opportunities to do what I like best--tell stories to appreciative audiences.  I have heard a plethora of folk tales during these events, as well as reading some to expand my repertoire, and I have been thinking about that genre of story.  What is it that makes folk tales appear in various locations, almost unchanged in basic plot, and makes them told and re-told throughout the years?  Why is it that movie makers keep discovering and re-discovering these stories?  I think the answer is that they always have a kernal of truth that speaks to our very souls.  We want the hero to win because we want to come out "on top" ourselves.  They seem to empower us and give us "permission" to be human, have faults, and still overcome.  Also, they are just good stories!  They have been handed down from generation to generation because we like to hear and tell them.  So...find a storyteller for your next event and experience the magic of folktale.  Or...tell a story to someone else--it will brighten both your days.