Fable

From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change

A fable is a type of short story which teaches a lesson or carries a moral, which is usually stated at the end. The characters of a fable may be people, gods, animals or even lifeless objects. When animals and objects are used in fables, they think and talk like people, even though they act like animals or objects. For example, in a fable a clay pot might say that it is frightened of being broken.

The stories told by fables are usually very simple. To understand a fable, the reader or listener doesn't need to know all about the characters, only one important thing. For this reason animals are often used in fables in a way that is easily understood because it is always the same. They keep the same characteristics from story to story.

A lion is noble
A rooster is boastful
A peacock is proud
A fox is cunning
A wolf is fierce
A horse is brave
A donkey is hard-working

The most famous fables are those attributed to Aesop (6th century B.C.). Many fables are so well-known that their morals have become English sayings.

For example:

If a person says "sour grapes!" then they are referring to a fable that tells the story of a fox who saw a beautiful bunch of grapes hanging on a vine. He wanted to eat them but they were high up. He tried and tried to jump high enough to pull them down. When he was too tired to jump anymore, he went away saying "I'll bet those grapes were sour!"

So, if a person sees a beautiful thing that they want, but cannot have, sometimes they say "I don't want it, anyway! I'll bet it is really no good!" This way of thinking is called "sour grapes".

"Crying wolf" is another well-known English saying. This comes from the fable of a boy who was sent to mind the sheep. The owners of the sheep said "If a wolf comes to eat the sheep, you must shout loudly, and we will chase the wolf away!" But the boy got lonely while minding the sheep. So after a while he shouted "Wolf! Wolf!" The people came running. When they saw there was no wolf, they were angry. The next day the boy got lonely again, so he shouted "Wolf! Wolf!" The people came running, but there was no wolf. They were very angry with the boy! On the third day the boy saw a large grey animal hiding behind the rocks and watching the sheep. He cried "Wolf! Wolf!" as loudly as he could, but no-one came to chase the wolf away, and at the end of the day, when the people came to look for him, there was nothing left but his bones.

So if a person always makes a great fuss to get attention, or if a person says something bad has happened when it has not, then it is called "crying wolf" and people who know them well, just don't bother to pay attention, even when things go really wrong.