Folkore is the pulse of rural life in Odisha. It runs through the cultural ethos of the rural setting in various forms of big and small stories. This paper foregrounds the significance folk tales bring to rural life. It studies how they constitute such narration where the socio-cultural ethos of Odia tribal culture finds natural manifestation. The paper also analyses the role of stories in present day tribal pockets of Odisha. By referring to Tribal Folk Tales from Orissa and Voices of the Forest: Tribal Folktales from Southern Odisha, the paper aims to examine how the tribal Odia life is supported and preserved through folktales.