Fables: Animal Stories With a Lesson

A fable is a short story, often with talking animals, that teaches a lesson. The animals act like people, and one of them usually makes a smart or silly choice. Here is a fable: 'A squirrel spent fall gathering nuts.

A cricket sang all day and laughed at him. When winter came, the squirrel had food, but the cricket was hungry. ' The lesson is that it is wise to plan ahead. Fables are short, so the lesson is easy to see. Many fables end by stating the lesson.

• 1A fable is a short story that teaches a lesson.
• 2Fables often have talking animals.
• 3One character makes a wise or unwise choice.