Why Folktales?

I have a shelf full of folktales: Chinese, Thai, Osage, Welsh, American South, West Africa ... You name a place on the planet where people live, I probably have a book of tales from there.

You might ask, "Why, Holly Y? Why?"

Some reasons:
* I hosted a children's show on our local public radio station (KRZA FM) and I needed something to do on-air for an hour. Voila! Read folk tales!
* I love the simplicity of folktales. Not a lot of description, dialogue, character -- but timeless plots.
* Speaking of timeless, I am constantly surprised by the commonalities in folktales. While they often describe very specific cultures, they often are very similar to tales from somewhere else.

Imagine, two groups of people who live across the globe from each other: folks in a place called Germany, and folks in a tribe called Arapahoe. Both groups have a story about a young woman harassed and abused by her step-sisters, who meets a fine young man, and through magic gets his attention and his love. Sound familiar? Cinderella lives in most cultures.

My questions to you, dear readers:
1. WHY would so many cultures have a Cinderella tale?
2. What is your culture, and do you have a Cinderella tale? Would you be willing to share it with us?