Cuento comes from Latin compŭtusy means "account". It is a small narrative created by one or more authors and where a small group of characters participate with a fairly simple plot. Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate it from a short novel since its specificity cannot be accurately measured.
The story can be told both orally and in writing, although in the beginning it was common to do it orally. Also, in the story real and fantastic events are stamped with few characters who participate in the central act of it.
The main objective of the story is to awaken a feeling of emotion in the reader. A story is characterized by being short rather than a novel and its structure is closed where the story takes place. The limits between these two are somewhat confusing, since a short novel is a prose narrative of less length than a novel and less development of the characters and the plot, although without the economy of narrative resources typical of the story.
There are generally two types of stories, the popular and the literary. The first of these is usually associated with traditional narratives that go from generation to generation orally. There may be different versions of the folk tale but they all maintain a similar structure. While the literary tale is a little more modern and is transmitted in writing. The authors are usually well known people.
The Royal Spanish Academy for its part points out that the word story can be an indiscreet account of an act, it can be a false event or a hoax. For example, "Luis came with the story that he did not come out last night."
