Fables are usually short narratives with animal characters that talk/act like humans.   A moral or important lesson is taught about life.

In tall tales, the main character has superhuman characteristics.  Tall tales explain how natural occurrences came to be.  They frequently contain hyperbole (obvious exaggerations) and similes (comparisons using "like" and "as").

Folk tales are traditional beliefs, legends, stories that were orally passed down from generation to generation, forming part of the oral tradition of the people of an area.  There are folk tales from all over the world.  Folk tales are often credited to an author who wrote the story down, but goes back much further than the first written story.