What is a Fable?

A fable is a story. A wise author would write the fable to tell a lesson. Long ago, people wrote many fables. They wrote them to help other people learn. For example, the tortoise and the hare is a fable. That fable tells people it is not wise to show off. It is wise to work hard.

Most fables have animals in them. The animals talk. Of course in real life an animal can’t talk. But in the fables they do. The animals often do foolish things. For example, in one fable there is a crow. It wants to get a delicious fruit. It takes it from a garden. And it gets it. But then as the crow soars it shows off. It opens its mouth to shout, “Look, I got the best fruit.” But of course the crow loses the fruit. It falls out of its mouth because it opened its mouth to shout.  

Fables have a moral. A moral is the lesson it teaches. The fable about the crow makes an important point. It tells you that people should be careful. It tells you that the crow was foolish.

There is another fable about the ant and the grasshopper. The grasshopper played all summer while the ant toiled. The ant got ready for winter. The ant was a hard worker. It dug a hole to stay in during winter. It carried food to that hole. When winter came, the ant was able to live. The grasshopper did not have any food. It had no place to stay. Winter was a great challenge for the grasshopper. It asked the ant for help. The ant was generous. The ant did help the grasshopper. The grasshopper learned a lesson. So did everyone who read the fable.