KidLit Forum

Fables are also important for children, because they can learn a lots of things concerning life, correct behaviour. I still remember the fables that I learned in the third grade (The fox and the grapes). They had a major impact on my behaviour. Reading the Ambrose Bierce's Fantastic Fables I enjoyed very much the fable "The Kangoroo and the Zebra". One day the Kangoroo mets the Zebra and makes a remark about Zebra's "clothes":"they look as if you come out of the penitenciary". I liked very much Zebra's reply: "you look as if you had come out of the Legislature". We should never judge a person's appearance.

Ambrose Bierce helped revive the literary fable. Bierce had his own definite ideas about the form and function of the fable, and he experimented with these ideas to
produce some of his most durable short narratives. His definition for the fable is: "A brief lie intended to illustrate some important truth".
His fables ironically undercut the expectations of readers and characters alike as he turns us all around to look in another direction. The tale of the sheep and the shepherd is an example:
"A Sheep making a long journey found
the heat of her fleece insupportable,
and seeing a flock of others in a
fold, evidently in expectation, leaped
in and joined them in the hope of being
shorn. Perceiving the Shepherd
approaching, and the other sheep huddling
into a remote corner of the fold, she
shouldered her way forward and said:
"Your flock is insubordinate; it is
fortunate that I came along to set them
an example of docility. Seeing me
operated on, they will be encouraged to
offer themselves."
"Thank you," said the Shepherd, "but
I never kill more than one at a time.
Mutton does not keep well in warm weather."
(VI, 331)
The sheep in this fable is looking out for herself and she thinks she is in control of the situation. Her mistaken perception costs her life, and so Bierce's ironic wit is called bitter and mordant.

Aesop’s Fables highlight important aspects related to human behavior and relations which are depicted through some life lessons in which the major characters are some species of animals or some categories of people . In addition, each story has a moral which is usually mentioned in the end. For example in ‘’The Ant and the Chrysalis’’ we find out that appearances are deceptive while an ant is experiencing sadness and is crying for ‘’poor, pitiable animal” which is in a transitory state, namely sitting in a shell. In “The Boy and the Filberts’’ , do not attempt too much at once, a boy who put his hand in a pitcher full of filberts tried to pull out his hand but unwilling to lose his filberts and yet unable to withdraw his hand, he burst into tears and lamented his disappointment.
In other words, each story has a particular message which was to be deciphered and put in correlation with a daily real-life situation. (Maria Bondea)

Fables center human behavior and the society' viciousness. Not only that different political or social categories are satirized but animals are representation of people. The famous fable entitled 'The hare and the frog' reflects the human distrust and failure in judging correctly a person. Appearances might induce us into error. If somebody in his appearance might look weak can constitute a false lead
Not only that the tortoise tricks the hare which consider it too slow and decide to have a nap, but actually wins and contradicts the general opinion. We never must judge after appearance but after real character.

The fable The Seal who became famous by James Thurber tells the story of a seal who is bored of his life because swimming is the only thing that he is able to do. So in order to become famous he joins a circus in the city where he learns to balance things and he also starts to wear human clothes. After a while he returns to his family and presents to them his new ability, and them he asks them to show their talent and they swim, which is the only thing that they are able to do.
The moral of this story is that we should thank God for what He gave us. We should be happy with the abilities that we have. We should not ask for more.