"The People Could Fly" ends with the equivalent of a curtain pull. After watching the people fly away, we're taken ahead to a future when everyone—not just those who can fly—are free. Even all those years later, though, the people haven't forgotten these amazing events. In fact, they have all gone on to "tell about the people who could fly to their children" (32).
Ultimately, this is the purpose of all folklore. While folk tales are never accurate in a literal sense, they reveal important emotional truths about real-life historical events. They teach us to remember the past, to treasure the present, and to carry on to the future. These formerly enslaved people are sustained by the memory of that fateful freedom flight and carry its message forward to future generations. Not too shabby for a story that's less than five pages long, huh?