Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Illinois

Unfortunately, there is no easy or certain way to see if material is, or ever was, subject to a copyright. If the story is really folklore, then by its very nature the underlying story itself is in the public domain. However, the particular written version of the oral folklore may be protected by the copyright of the person who created that version. Since current copyright law bestows the copyright at the time the work is created, and requires neither registration nor notice, unless you know when the written work was created and by whom, you cannot be certain that there is no copyright protection. Your best best would be to find a source that is clearly in the public domain (such as being published prior to 1923). Your next best option would be to find several different versions of the story and write your own version, though there is always some risk that even then your version might be deemed a violation.