Traditional literature tends to vary from telling to telling and from culture to culture containing elements peculiar to the society and culture that produced it.
Traditional literature has no named author.
Literary works have named author. Hans Christian Anderson and others collected traditional literature but also authored some which would be called literary tales. Traditionally, young and old alike heard the same tales, but each social class cultivated the art of storytelling, reflecting the culture, natural environment, and social contacts of the storyteller and the audience. For example, stories told and heard by nobility differed from those told and heard by the commoners. The first would often discuss use of power and benevolent and wise rulers etc.