Folk-tales are among the world`s most beautiful examples of oral storytelling. One can call them the `childhood of literature` as without them none of the world`s literature would be complete just like an individual wouldn`t be complete without his/her childhood`s memories.
The period of collecting Hungarian folk-tales may be placed at the end of the 18th century. Among the later collectors Elek Benedek (1859-1929) became the most famous. He started to collect folk-tales as a student. He published his collection in the `Transylvanian Tales`, which became a big success. From that time he dedicated his life to children`s literature and in 1889 founded the first Hungarian literary magazine for children, My Magazine. He emerged as a Hungarian `Brother Grimm`, mainly on account of his enormously popular tales. His best known collection, the Hungarian Popular Tales (5 volumes, 1894-96) was known and enjoyed by generations throughout the land to this day.