cante fable

   A technical term for spoken prose narratives interspersed with short songs conveying crucial information (e.g. magical utterances, riddles, threats, etc.). English *folktales often contain verses, but they are not sung; one of the few references to a true cante fable performance is by W. H. Jones, who noted in 1889 that he had recently heard a version of The Frog King from a storyteller in Holderness, who used 'a traditional air' (unspecified) for the frog's calls:

   Come bring me my supper, My own sweet, sweet one and

   Come, let us go to bed, My own sweet, sweet one.

   (Philip, 1992: 95-6)