Several folk tales have many versions, so that the same story may be known in different countries each of which has its own variations on the theme.  This is mainly because of the oral quality of folk tales; their original existence in an oral tradition in which they were passed on through different generations and across different countries by oral transmission.  People tell them to each other from memory or with their own emphases, causing them to suffer changes.  Sometimes too, they are deliberately edited by the tellers for various reasons, or they are adapted to suit particular cultures.

A very good illustration of this was evident recently when the Sunday Stabroek carried a series of different versions of the Cinderella story from different countries.  The range of variants in plot, characters and cultures was amazing, …..