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This paper begins with a tale of joy and humour that embodies the kind of gift which breeds conviviality in everyday life. In other words, a gift of no cost for the donator but bearer of good will and openness to encounters. The second part deals with another kind of gift, the intergenerational one by which life force is transmitted to the child through attachment and love. Numerous tales tackle this topic, stressing what is at stake: life or death. The third part looks at tales staging the vital link between two characters of same generation. These tales point, often in a Christic way, to the costly sacrifice made by one character to save the other. These tales insist on the distress, solitude and suffering of the characters who appeal to the loved one. In summary, in tales as well as in real life, gifts appear both as a mean to initiate a human link and as the price to be paid for supporting or restoring a vital bond.