Illustration from Charles Perrault's version of the fairytale 'Cinderella' depicting a royal footman finding Cinderella's slipper. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)
Illustration from Charles Perrault's version of the fairytale 'Cinderella' depicting a royal footman finding Cinderella's slipper. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)
'The Famous History of Tom Thumb'. Tom holds a candle so his mother can see to cook. Late 18th-century woodcut. (Photo by, Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)
'The Famous History of Tom Thumb'. Tom holds a candle so his mother can see to cook. Late 18th-century woodcut. (Photo by, Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)
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A page from 'Once Upon A Time, A Book Of Old-Time Fairy Tales,' by Katharine Lee Bates and illustrated by Margaret Evans Price, 1921. This page, from the story of 'Beauty and the Beast,' shows the beast as he pleads with the beauty, who is seated at a dinner table. New research suggests the 'Beauty and the Beast' tale is 4,000 years old. (Photo by Buyenlarge/Getty Images)
A page from 'Once Upon A Time, A Book Of Old-Time Fairy Tales,' by Katharine Lee Bates and illustrated by Margaret Evans Price, 1921. This page, from the story of 'Beauty and the Beast,' shows the beast as he pleads with the beauty, who is seated at a dinner table. New research suggests the 'Beauty and the Beast' tale is 4,000 years old. (Photo by Buyenlarge/Getty Images)
Aesop's Fables, 'The Fox and the Boar'. Illustration after a 1485 edition printed in Naples by German printers for Francesco del Tuppo. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)
Aesop's Fables, 'The Fox and the Boar'. Illustration after a 1485 edition printed in Naples by German printers for Francesco del Tuppo. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)
'Brothers Grimm Children's and Household Tales', later known as 'Grimm's Fairy Tales'. Illustration for ' Rumpel-Stilts-Kin' by George Cruikshank in 1868. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)
'Brothers Grimm Children's and Household Tales', later known as 'Grimm's Fairy Tales'. Illustration for ' Rumpel-Stilts-Kin' by George Cruikshank in 1868. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)
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Illustration from a children's picture book telling the story of 'Jack and the Beanstalk', c1800. Jack is seen climbing the beanstalk towards the giant's castle. The figure with the broom is Jack's mother. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)
Illustration from a children's picture book telling the story of 'Jack and the Beanstalk', c1800. Jack is seen climbing the beanstalk towards the giant's castle. The figure with the broom is Jack's mother. (Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)
'The Werewolf', a fairytale figure, 1911. By Hungarian artist Josef Diveky (1887–1951). (Photo by Imagno/Getty Images)
'The Werewolf', a fairytale figure, 1911. By Hungarian artist Josef Diveky (1887–1951). (Photo by Imagno/Getty Images)
'Pinocchio: the Tale of a Puppet’' by C Collodi with coloured illustrations by Charles Folkard, 1914. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)
'Pinocchio: the Tale of a Puppet’' by C Collodi with coloured illustrations by Charles Folkard, 1914. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)
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French writer Charles Perrault's 'Hop-o'-My-Thumb', one of eight fairytales published by Perrault in 'Histoires ou Contes du temps passé' (1697). Later engraving by Gustave Dore, 1862. (Photo by PHAS/UIG via Getty Images)
French writer Charles Perrault's 'Hop-o'-My-Thumb', one of eight fairytales published by Perrault in 'Histoires ou Contes du temps passé' (1697). Later engraving by Gustave Dore, 1862. (Photo by PHAS/UIG via Getty Images)
Illustration by Gustave Dore taken from Charles Perrault’s 'Little Red Riding Hood'. Little Red Riding Hood sits in the bed next to the wolf, disguised in her grandmother's night-cap. Taken from Perrault's 'Les Contes de Perrault’, c1860s. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)
Illustration by Gustave Dore taken from Charles Perrault’s 'Little Red Riding Hood'. Little Red Riding Hood sits in the bed next to the wolf, disguised in her grandmother's night-cap. Taken from Perrault's 'Les Contes de Perrault’, c1860s. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Read more about the origins of many common fairytales here.

This article was first published by History Extra in January 2016.

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