The popular English version is a translation from the French of Charles Perrault's , that appeared in his influential collection of fairy tales published in 1697. Animal tales - form the basis for most fables and many other stories as well. Best known perhaps is the goose that lays the golden egg. Dragons are found in narratives from China to Europe. In both China and Europe the dragons were depicted as guardians of great treasure.
Ancient mythology contains stories of unicorns, horses with a single horn at the forehead.
The horn was supposed to contain a liquid that would cure disease, but the animal was very swift and hard to catch. The 'Arabian Nights' include a story about a giant bird that carries off people in its claws. Some of the animals are a combination of man and beast, such as the centaur and the minotaur. The centaur is part horse and part man, while the minotaur is half man and half bull. More familiar to modern readers are mermaids, which are half fish and half woman.