In the land of folktales, time is not measured by a clock, its hands are irrelevant and indifferent. The grains of sand in an hourglass, the shadow of the sundial, the ticking of the pendulum clock, the silence of an analog or digital watch, or the accuracy of a smartwatch matter nothing.
Time – similar to impossible expressions such as space, reality or the world – is a concept whose meaning is constantly changing and taking shape. Although the concept of time has undergone countless changes in meaning and its multi-layered nature has an infinite number of possible explanations, when it enters into the world of individual folktales – existing in variations – one thing is certain: once.
Separating conventional time from the time of tales is not a difficult task, as the latter’s independence from the world of Realities is of such a scale that it not only ignores the minutes, quarter-, half-hours, and hours that have passed there, but has power over them. At any instant, one time may stop, slow, hasten or arrest the progress of another – and that power is a wonder in itself.
The wonder of time enveloped between the formulaic opening and closing lines of a folktale is lenient: heroes may spend years wandering in a single sentence, dragons and princesses may sleep deeply for decades before living happily ever after – or perishing. At other times, three days and three nights may suddenly extend into centuries. There is no need for telling time where the past, present and future intertwine on a whim: all pasts live on in a present, and prophecies project the inevitable future. The duality of time in the world of folktales is the simultaneous experience of the everlasting and the fleeting. The fact that the time during which the folktale takes place and the time during which it is told – be it hearing, reading or watching – coincides with the time of the world of Realities, is within the scope of this duality. Thus, the time of folktales is not only valid in a separate world, but may sometimes even manage the time of ordinary mortals.