Fairy tales are the stories that adults, especially parents, tell young children. In view of their name, it is surprising that hardly any of them are actually about fairies. Although most fairy tales have happy endings, the stories usually deal with very frightening situations - children abandoned in the forest, terrifying giants, cruel stepmothers. However, despite being scared when they are told the stories, children will often ask to hear them over and over again. Many psychologists believe that what fairy tales do, in addition to stimulating children's imagination, is to show that there are problems in the world and they can be overcome. Just like adults, children have fears and worries: theirs are of things such as abandonment, loss, injuries, witches. Fairy tales present real problems in a fantasy form that children are able to understand. This, it is claimed, allow them to confront their fears and to realise, if ever in their unconscious mind, that no matter how difficult the circumstances, there are always ways of coping.