A fable is a fictional story that teaches a moral lesson. It features anthropomorphized animals or objects as characters and has a simple plot with conflict and resolution. The moral, or life lesson, is usually stated at the end. Many fables originate from Aesop, a slave in ancient Greece who wrote brief stories for children centered around a moral lesson. Fables are meant to teach appropriate behavior and values through symbolic stories.

1. What isa Fable?
- A fable isa fictional narrative meanttoteacha moral lesson.
-The plotof the fable includesasimple conflictanda resolution,followedbyamaxim
= fablesare characterizedbytheirmoral lessons.These shorttaleswere once passeddownasfolklore
to teachlistenersthe difference betweenrightorwrong,give advice onproperbehaviourandmanners,
offermaximstolive by
-The moral of a fable-anoverarchingrule tolive bythattranscendsthe specificsof the story,usually
statedat the end.
=for example,inthe fable of the wolf andthe sheep,awolf insheep’sclothingisable toinfiltrate the
sheep’spasture withoutraisinganyalarm, andeasilymake ameal outof the sheep.The moral of the
storyis that appearancescanbe deceiving.
-Fablesfeature anthromorphizedanimalsandnatural elementsasmaincharacters.
=the maincharactersare usuallyportraybyanimals.
Where didFablesoriginate?
- The word fable isderivedfromthe Latinwordfibula,whichmeans“a story”, anda derivative
of the wordfari,whichmeans“ to speak”.
=most westernfablescome fromthe famousfabulistAesop
Aesop:
-Aesopisa legendaryfigure,the supposedauthorof acollectionof Greekfables.
A slave inancientGreece inthe 6th centuryB.C.E.
-Aesop’sfableswere brief stories,appropriate frochildrenandstructuredarounda simple simple moral
lesson.
-Aesopianfablesputemphasisonthe social communicationsorrelationsof humanbeings.
-Inancientgreekeducation,students were taughtfablesandencouragedtomake upandrecite their
own.
=so thistrainingiscalledprogymnasmata.
-Progymnasmataisaset of preparatoryexercisessetuptotrainstudentsof rhetoric-the artof creating
speeches,forthe compositionof prose andperformance of practical orations.
- Progymnasmataisgenerallydistinguishedintotwogroups:those thatcan be a part of a speech;and
those that can be eithera part or whole speech.

2. -the firstexercise inthe progymnasmaticseriesrequiredstudentstoretellone of Aesop’sfables.The
studentsabilitytonarrate wouldbe stretchedbythe furtherrequirementthattheytell the same story
backwardsor startingin the middle.
-Fableshave alongEuropeanhistory.Inthe 17th century,FrenchfabulistJean de laFontaine was
inspiredbyAesoptowrite fablesthat satirizedthe church,the court,andthe rullingclassof the time.
-De la Fontaine consideredthe moral tobe the core elementof the fable
-manyEuropeanwriterswere inspiredbyde laFontaine, includingthe RussianfabulistIanKrylov
Panchatantra
- isa compilationof inter-wovenseriesof talesinprose andpoetry,mostlyanimal fables.
-wascomposedinSanskritlanguage around3rd centuryBCE and wasattibutedtoPanditVishnu
Sharma
-aimsto illustrate the primaryHinduprinciplesif nїti-the wiseconductof life
- Traditionally,fablesare writtentoteach childrentheirculture’sappropriatebehaviorandvalues,but
there are some exceptions.Forexample,George Orwell’sallegorical novel AnimalFarmhassome
characteristicsof a fable,eventhoughitwasa satire writtenforadults.
Four Central Characteristicsof aFable
1. Symbolism.Charactersinfablesare stand-insforhuman,andtheirmisadventuresare meantto
symbolize human behavior.
2. Anthropomorphization.Infables,animalsandeveninanimateobjects(like the wind,orthe sun)
are the maincharacters of the storyand are givenhumanqualities.Someanimalshave specific
traitsassociatedwiththem.Forexample,anowl iswise,afox iscunning,anda lionisbrave.
3. Lessons.Everyfable hasa moral lessonatthe endthat arisesfromstory.For example,“slowand
steadywinsthe the race.”
4. Humor.Fablesoftenhave ahumoroustone whenshowingthe foolishnessof humannature.
Four Examplesof FamousFables
Some of the mostfamousfablesinclude:
• The fox and the grapes.Thisfable isthe originof the phrase “sour grapes.”A fox spiesabunchof
grapeshighup on a branch and wantsthembadly.He takesa runningjumpto reach thembut misses.
He triesseveral more times,buttonoavail.Finally,he givesupandwalksawayscornfully.The moral of
the tale is: “There are many whopretendtodespise andbelittle thatwhichisbeyondtheirreach.”
• The lionandthe mouse.A lioncatchesa mouse,whobegstobe letgo.The mouse promisestorepay
the lioninexchange forhislife.The lionagreesandletsthe mouse go.A few dayslater,the mouse

3. comesuponthe liontrappedina hunter’snet,and,rememberingthe lion’smercy,gnawsonthe rope
until the lionisfree.The moral of the story is:“A kindnessisneverwasted.”
• The tortoise andthe hare.The tortoise andthe hare entera footrace.The hare jeersat the tortoise,
remarkinghownaturallyhe issomuch fasterthanthe slow tortoise.Duringthe race,the hare takes
several longbreaksandwastestime relaxingbetweenquicksprints.Meanwhile,the tortoise chugs
steadilyalong.Inthe end,the tortoise wins.The moral of the storyis:“Slow andsteadywinsthe race.”
• The fox and the crow. A hungryfox comesupon a crow up ina tree witha bit of cheese initsmouth.
The fox beginstotalk to the crow,tellinghershe issobeautiful andmusthave a beautiful voice to
match. Atfirst,the crow stayssilent,holdingon toher cheese.Butat last,aftermuchflattery,she opens
hermouth to crow.The cheese fallsintothe fox’smouth.The moral of the storyis: “The flattererlivesat
the expense of those whowilllistentohim.”
BenjaminM.Pascual
-a lawyerbyprofessionwhoalsotaughtandwrote storiesandpoemswhichwere includedinLingka-An
Anthology of Iloko Literaturein English
Vocabulary
Trapeze- a gymnasticoracrobatic apparatusconsistingof a shorthorizontal barsuspendedbytwo
ropes.(Merriam-Webster, 2022)
Fury- Strenghtor violence inAction.(EnglishDictionary,2022)
Delight-ahighdegreeof gratificationorpleasre:JOY (Merriam-Webster,2022)
Animate- possessing or chracterizedbylife.(Merriam-Webster,2022)
Pendulum–a bodysuspendedfroma fixedpointsoasto swingfreelytoandfrounder the actionof
gravityand commonlyusedtorequlate movements.(Merriam-Webster,2022)
Ecstasy-astate of emotionsointense thatapersoniscarriedbeyondrational thoughtandself-control.
(EnglishDictionary,2022)
Fatal-causingdeath. (Merriam-Webster,2022)
Fable of the WingedAntsinSearch forLight
Theyspendtheiracrobaticlives

4. Doingtrapeze arcs aboutthe white
Tube of fluorescentlampthatdrives
Themintoa furyof delight
But ina plate of watertheysee
The light,thistime more animate:
From theirpendulumecstacy
Theydive intothe fatal plate.
Vocabulary
Obstrepreous- attendedby,ormaking,a loudandtumultuousnoise. (EnglishDictionary,2022)
Gnat- anyof various small usuallybitingdipteranflies. (EnglishDictionary,2022)
Outraged- anact of violence orbrutality
Quantum- quantityoramount
Maimed-tomutilate,disfigure,orwound
Concoction- somethingpreparedordevisedbycombiningdifferentingredients
Wily- sly,cunning,full of tricks. (EnglishDictionary,2022)
Miniscule -verysmall
Fable of SanitizedManFlexingHisPowerAsBestHe Can
“Obstreperousgnat!”he exclaimed,
Outragedthat all hischemicals
Had not thisquantumcreature maimed.
How hadhis concoctionturnedfalse?
So whenthe wilyminiscule
Made a fillingstationof hisbrow
He swunghisbroadpalm-
Andhe,fool,gave himself the unwordedblow.