Definition: Stories composed of supernatural happenings, fables usually employ the personification of animals or inanimate objects and are intended to teach a moral or lesson. The Western fable originated in Greece with Aesop's Fables, in India fables date back to the 5th century BC and the Panca-tantra, a Sanskrit collection of beast-fables. In Japan, fables fill the 8th-century histories, Kojiki and Nihon shoki.
Examples: One of Aesop's most famous fables is that of "The Tortoise and the Hare," the moral of which is "slow but steady wins the race."
More Literary Terms Defined
More Literary Terms Defined
