Other forms: tall tales
A tall tale is a story with unbelievable elements, told as if it were factual. It takes a story that sounds possible, like a fisherman catching a big fish, then stretches it until the fish is so big that it pulls the boat across the lake.
Some tall tales exaggerate real events, while others are entirely fictional stories set in familiar places. The exaggeration drives the story. Tall tales became an important part of American folk literature, especially through stories about frontier figures. Paul Bunyan, the giant lumberjack, stars in famous American tall tales with his blue ox, Babe. Bunyan is said to have dug the Grand Canyon with his axe and created Minnesota's lakes with his footprints. Those details are wildly implausible, which is part of the fun of the story.