Editing Fable

{{short description|Short fictional story that anthropomorphises non-humans to illustrate a moral lesson}}
{{other uses}}
[[File:Cat guarding geese c1120 BC Egypt.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Anthropomorphism|Anthropomorphic]] cat guarding geese, Egypt, {{Circa|1120 [[BCE]]}}]]
'''Fable''' is a literary genre defined as a succinct fictional story, in [[prose]] or [[verse (poetry)|verse]], that features [[animal]]s, [[legendary creature]]s, [[plant]]s, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphized]], and that illustrates or leads to a particular [[moral]] lesson (a "moral"), which may at the end be added explicitly as a concise [[maxim (philosophy)|maxim]]<!-- ''most'' of this page is too specific to serve as the only target --> or [[saying]]<!-- this is too much of a compendium to serve as the only target -->.

A fable differs from a [[parable]] in that the latter ''excludes'' animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as actors that assume speech or other powers of humankind. Conversely, an [[animal tale]] specifically includes talking animals as characters.

Usage has not always been so clearly distinguished. In the [[King James Version]] of the [[New Testament]], "{{lang|grc|μῦθος}}" ("''[[mythos]]''") was rendered by the [[Translation|translators]] as "fable"<ref>For example, in ''[[First Epistle to Timothy|First Timothy]]'', "neither give heed to fables...", and "refuse profane and old wives' fables..." (1 Tim 1:4 and 4:4, respectively).</ref> in the [[First Epistle to Timothy]], the [[Second Epistle to Timothy]], the [[Epistle to Titus]] and the [[First Epistle of Peter]].<ref>
Strong's 3454. μύθος muthos moo’-thos; perhaps from the same as 3453 (through the idea of tuition); a tale, i.e. <U>fiction</U> ("myth"):—fable.<br />"For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty." (2nd Peter 1:16)</ref>

A person who writes fables is referred to as a '''fabulist'''.

==Global history==
The fable is one of the most enduring forms of [[folklore|folk literature]], spread abroad, modern researchers agree,<ref>''Enzyklopädie des Märchens'' (1977), see "Fabel", "Äsopica" etc.</ref> less by literary anthologies than by oral transmission. Fables can be found in the literature of almost every country.

===Aesopic or Aesop's fable===
The varying corpus denoted ''Aesopica'' or ''[[Aesop's Fables]]'' includes most of the best-known western fables, which are attributed to the [[legend]]ary [[Aesop]], supposed to have been a slave in [[ancient Greece]] around 550 BCE. When [[Babrius]] set down fables from the ''Aesopica'' in verse for a [[Hellenistic]] Prince "Alexander", he expressly stated at the head of Book II that this type of "myth" that Aesop had introduced to the "sons of the Hellenes" had been an invention of "Syrians" from the time of "[[Ninus|Ninos]]" (personifying [[Nineveh]] to Greeks) and [[Belus (Assyrian)|Belos]] ("ruler").<ref>Burkert 1992:121</ref> [[Epicharmus of Kos]] and Phormis are reported as having been among the first to invent comic fables.<ref>P. W. Buckham, p. 245</ref> Many familiar fables of Aesop include "[[The Crow and the Pitcher]]", "[[The Tortoise and the Hare]]" and "[[The Lion and the Mouse]]".

In the first century AD, [[Phaedrus (fabulist)|Phaedrus]] (died 50 AD) produced Latin translations in iambic verse of fables then circulating under the name of Aesop. While Phaedrus's Latinizations became classic (transmitted through the Middle Ages, though attributed to a certain [[Romulus (fabulist)|Romulus]], now considered legendary), the writing of fables in Greek did not stop; in the 2nd century AD, [[Babrius]] wrote beast fables in Greek in the manner of Aesop, which would also become influential in the Middle Ages (and sometimes transmitted as Aesop's work).{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

In ancient Greek and Roman education, the fable was the first of the ''[[progymnasmata]]''—training exercises in prose composition and public speaking—wherein students would be asked to learn fables, expand upon them, invent their own, and finally use them as persuasive examples in longer forensic or deliberative speeches. The need of instructors to teach, and students to learn, a wide range of fables as material for their declamations resulted in their being gathered together in collections, like those of Aesop.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

===Africa===
[[Oral tradition|African oral culture]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/atim-oton/arits-fables-kids-series_b_1001656.html |author=Atim Oton |title=Reaching African Children Through Fables and Animation |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |date=October 25, 2011 |access-date=May 8, 2012}}</ref> has a rich story-telling tradition. As they have for thousands of years, people of all ages in Africa continue to interact with nature, including plants, animals and earthly structures such as rivers, plains, and mountains. Children and, to some extent, adults are mesmerized by good story-tellers when they become animated in their quest to tell a good fable.

The [[Anansi]] oral story originates from the tribes of [[Ghana]]. "All Stories Are Anansi's" was translated by Harold Courlander and Albert Kofi Prempeh and tells the story of a god-like creature Anansi who wishes to own all stories in the world.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=The Norton Anthology World Literature |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-393-60285-2 |edition=4th |location=500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY |pages=902–905}}</ref> The character Anansi is often depicted as a spider and is known for its cunning nature to obtain what it wants, typically seen outwitting other animal characters.<ref name=":0" />

===India===
India has a rich tradition of fables, many derived from traditional stories and related to local natural elements. Indian fables often teach a particular moral.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ohale|first=Nagnath|date=2020-05-25|title=Indian Fables Stories – In Indian Culture Indian fables with morals|url=https://inindianculture.com/indian-fables-stories/|access-date=2020-07-16|website=In Indian Culture|language=en-GB|archive-date=2020-07-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731105845/https://inindianculture.com/indian-fables-stories/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In some stories the gods have animal aspects, while in others the characters are archetypal talking animals similar to those found in other cultures. Hundreds of fables were composed in [[History of India|ancient India]] during the [[1st millennium BC|first millennium BCE]], often as [[Story within a story|stories within]] [[frame story|frame stories]]. Indian fables have a mixed cast of humans and animals. The dialogues are often longer than in fables of Aesop and often comical as the animals try to outwit one another by trickery and deceit. In Indian fables, humanity is not presented as superior to the animals. Prime examples of the fable in India are the Panchatantra and the [[Jataka tales]]. These included [[Vishnu Sarma]]'s ''[[Panchatantra]]'', the ''[[Hitopadesha]]'', ''[[Baital Pachisi|Vikram and The Vampire]]'', and [[Syntipas]]' ''[[Seven Wise Masters]]'', which were collections of fables that were later influential throughout the [[Old World]]. Ben E. Perry (compiler of the "[[Perry Index]]" of Aesop's fables) has argued controversially that some of the Buddhist ''Jataka tales'' and some of the fables in the ''Panchatantra'' may have been influenced by similar [[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Near East]]ern ones.<ref>Ben E. Perry, "Introduction", p. xix, in ''Babrius and Phaedrus'' (1965)</ref> Earlier [[Indian epic poetry|Indian epics]] such as [[Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa|Vyasa's]] ''[[Mahabharata]]'' and [[Valmiki]]'s ''[[Ramayana]]'' also contained fables within the main story, often as [[side story|side stories]] or [[back-story]]. The most famous folk stories from the Near East were the ''[[One Thousand and One Nights]]'', also known as the ''Arabian Nights''.

The Panchatantra is an ancient Indian assortment of fables. The earliest recorded work, ascribed to Vishnu Sharma, dates to around 300 BCE. The tales are likely much older than the compilation, having been passed down orally prior to the book's compilation. The word "Panchatantra" is a blend of the words "pancha" (which means "five" in Sanskrit) and "tantra" (which means "weave"). It implies weaving together multiple threads of narrative and moral lessons together to form a book.

===Europe===
[[File:Fabel van de smid en de hond.jpg|thumb|Printed image of ''the fable of the blacksmith and the dog'' from the sixteenth century<ref>{{Cite web|title=Fabel van de smid en de hond|url=https://lib.ugent.be/viewer/archive.ugent.be:B04BBED2-F681-11E9-9639-C36B765DA7FD#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-675,0,4065,2270|access-date=2020-09-28|website=lib.ugent.be}}</ref>]]

Fables had a further long tradition through the [[Middle Ages]] and became part of European high literature. The Roman writer [[Avianus]] (active around 400 AD) wrote Latin fables mostly based on [[Babrius]], using very little material from Aesop. Fables attributed to Aesop circulated widely in collections bearing the title of ''[[Romulus (fabulist)|Romulus]]'' (as though an author named Romulus had translated and rewritten them, though today most scholars regard this Romulus to be a legendary figure). Many of these Latin version were in fact Phaedrus's 1st-century versified Latinizations. Collections titled ''Romulus'' inspired a flurry of medieval authors to newly translate (sometimes into local vernaculars), versify and rewrite fables. Among them, [[Adémar de Chabannes]] (11th century), [[Alexander Neckam]] (12th century, ''Novus Aesopus'' and shorter ''Novus Avianus''), [[Gualterus Anglicus]] (12th century) and  Marie de France (12th-13th century) wrote fables adapted from models generally understood to be Aesop, Avianus or the so-called "Romulus".{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

In the later Middle Ages, Aesop's fables were newly gathered and edited with a prefatory biography of Aesop. This biography, usually simply titled ''Life of Aesop'' (''Vita Aesopi''), is more invented than factual, and itself a sort of moralistic fable; known in several versions, this ''Aesop Romance'', as scholars term it today, enjoyed nearly as much fame as the fables themselves by the end of the fifteenth century. The most common version of this tale-like biography is attributed to the Byzantine scholar [[Maximus Planudes]] (1260–1310), who also gathered and edited fables for posterity. In the Renaissance, Aesopic fables were hugely popular. They were published in luxurious illuminated manuscripts, such as the so-called "Medici Aesop" made around 1480 in Florence based on the corpus established by Planudes, probably for the [[Piero the Unfortunate|son]] of [[Lorenzo de' Medici]] (now kept in the New York Public Library). Early on, Aesopic fables were also disseminated in print, usually with Planudes's ''Life of Aesop'' as a preface. The German humanist [[Heinrich Steinhöwel]] published a bilingual (Latin and German) edition of the fables in Ulm in 1476. This publication gave rise to many re-editions of the sole German prose translation (known as the ''Esopus'' or ''Esopus teutsch''). It became one the great bestsellers of the last decades of the fifteenth century. Several authors adapted or versified fables from this corpus, such as the German poet and playwright Burkard Waldis, whose versified ''Esopus'' of 1548 was influential. Even the artist and polymath [[Leonardo da Vinci]] (1452–1519) composed some fables in his native Florentine dialect.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

During the 17th century, the [[France|French]] fabulist [[Jean de La Fontaine]] (1621–1695) saw the soul of the fable in the moral—a rule of behavior. Starting with the Aesopian pattern, La Fontaine set out to satirize the court, the church, the rising [[bourgeoisie]], indeed the entire human scene of his time.<ref>Translations of his 12 books of fables are available online at [http://oaks.nvg.org/fontaine.html oaks.nvg.org]</ref> La Fontaine's model was subsequently emulated by England's [[John Gay]] (1685–1732);<ref>His two collections of 1727 and 1738 are available in one volume on Google Books at [https://archive.org/details/fablesjohngayil00owengoog <!-- quote=john gay   "fables". --> books.google.co.uk]</ref> Poland's [[Ignacy Krasicki]] (1735–1801);<ref>His ''Bajki i przypowieści'' (Fables and Parables, 1779) are available online at [http://literat.ug.edu.pl/ikbajk/index.htm ug.edu.pl]</ref> Italy's Lorenzo Pignotti (1739–1812)<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/favoleenovelle01pigngoog |quote=pignotti   favola. |title=His ''Favole e Novelle'' (1785) is available on |via=[[Internet Archive]] |year=1830 |publisher=da'torchi di R.di Napoli |access-date=May 8, 2012}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=May 2012}} and Giovanni Gherardo de Rossi (1754–1827);<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rKoTAAAAQAAJ&q=pignotti+++favola |title=His ''Favole'' (1788) is available on Google Books |access-date=May 8, 2012|last1=Rossi |first1=Giovanni Gherardo De |year=1790 }}</ref>{{Verify source|date=May 2012}} Serbia's [[Dositej Obradović]] (1745–1801);<ref>9 books of fables are available online in Spanish at [http://amediavoz.com/samaniego.htm amediavoz.com]</ref> Spain's [[Tomás de Iriarte y Oropesa]] (1750–1791);<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_Zr0DAAAAQAAJ |quote=Tomás de Iriarte y Oropesa fabulas. |title=His ''Fabulas Literarias'' are available on |via=[[Internet Archive]] |year=1816 |access-date=May 8, 2012}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=May 2012}} France's [[Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian]] (1755–1794);<ref>His five books of fables are available online in French at [http://www.shanaweb.net/florian/la-vie-de-florian.htm shanaweb.net] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612144726/http://shanaweb.net/florian/la-vie-de-florian.htm |date=2010-06-12 }}</ref> and Russia's [[Ivan Krylov]] (1769–1844).<ref>5 books of fables are available online in English at [http://www.friends-partners.org/friends/literature/19century/krylov2.html friends-partners.org] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221221002/http://www.friends-partners.org/friends/literature/19century/krylov2.html |date=2011-02-21 }}</ref>

== Contemporary works ==
In contemporary periods, while the fable has been trivialized in children's books, it has also been fully adapted to modern adult literature.

During the 1880s, Irish-American journalist and folklorist [[Joel Chandler Harris]] wrote African-American fables in the Southern context of slavery under the name of Uncle Remus. His stories (including the animal characters Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear) are modern examples of story-telling that have been praised by scholars like Louis D. Rubin Jr.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jr |first=R. Bruce Bickley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B3NnKVGfJTAC&lpg=PA9&dq=joel%20chandler%20harris&lr&pg=PA66#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=Joel Chandler Harris: A Biography and Critical Study |date=2008-04-01 |publisher=University of Georgia Press |isbn=978-0-8203-3185-0 |pages=66-69 |language=en}}</ref> Harris’ work has also received criticism, however; according to Rubin, Harris seemed to perpetuate segregationist ideology, as well as glamorize the background and role of slaves in his stories.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rubin |first=Louis D. |last2=Jr. |title=Joel Chandler Harris Criticism: Uncle Remus and the Ubiquitous Rabbit - Louis D. Rubin, Jr. - eNotes.com |url=https://www.enotes.com/topics/joel-chandler-harris/criticism/criticism/louis-d-rubin-jr-essay-date-1974 |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=eNotes |language=en}}</ref>

[[Felix Salten]]'s ''[[Bambi, A Life in the Woods|Bambi]]'' (1923) is a ''[[Bildungsroman]]''—a story of a [[protagonist]]'s coming-of-age—cast in the form of a fable. [[James Thurber]] used the ancient fable style in his books ''[[Fables for Our Time and Famous Poems Illustrated|Fables for Our Time]]'' (1940) and ''Further Fables for Our Time'' (1956), and in his stories "[[The Princess and the Tin Box]]" in ''The Beast in Me and Other Animals'' (1948) and "The Last Clock: A Fable for the Time, Such As It Is, of Man" in ''Lanterns and Lances'' (1961). [[Władysław Reymont]]'s ''The Revolt'' (1922), a [[metaphor]] for the [[Bolshevik]] [[Russian Revolution of 1917|Revolution of 1917]], described a revolt by animals that take over their farm in order to introduce "equality". [[George Orwell]]'s ''[[Animal Farm]]'' (1945) similarly satirized [[Stalinist Communism]] in particular, and [[totalitarianism]] in general, in the guise of animal fable.

In the 21st century, the Neapolitan writer and painter Sabatino Scia is the author of over a hundred fables.<ref>{{Cite web |title=SABATINO SCIA - Sito Ufficiale |url=https://sabatinoscia.com/ |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=SABATINO SCIA |language=it-IT}}</ref> The characters are not only animals, but also things, beings, and elements from nature'''—'''all playing the role of revealer of human society. In addition to these writings, Scia also uses painting as a medium for his fables: his collection “Не забувати ніколи. Never forget," for example, is a commentary on [[Holodomor]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Le favole di protesta occidentale di Sabatino Scia |url=https://sabatinoscia.com/favole/ |access-date=2025-04-25 |website=SABATINO SCIA |language=it-IT}}</ref> In Latin America, the brothers Juan and Victor Ataucuri Garcia have also contributed to the resurgence of the fable. But they do so with a novel idea: use the fable as a means of dissemination of traditional literature of that place. In the book "Fábulas Peruanas," published in 2003, they have collected myths, legends, and beliefs of Andean and Amazonian Peru, to write as fables.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ICDL - International Children's Digital Library |url=http://en.childrenslibrary.org/library/books/a/atafabu_00510018/index.html |access-date=2025-04-25 |website=en.childrenslibrary.org}}</ref>

African-American and award-winning author [[Octavia E. Butler]], though having published work since 1971, has made a resurgence in popular media nearly twenty years after her death in 2006. With what The MacArthur Foundation describes as “transcendent fables,” her stories address social issues such as climate change and racial inequality in a way that’s still relevant to many of her readers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=George |first=Lynell |date=2022-11-17 |title=The Visions of Octavia Butler |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/11/17/arts/octavia-butler-vision-kindred.html# |access-date=2025-04-30 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Fabulists==
<gallery widths="150" heights="150" class="center">
File:Velázquez - Esopo (Museo del Prado, 1639-41).jpg|[[Aesop]], by [[Diego Velázquez|Velázquez]]
File:Valmiki_Ramayana.jpg|[[Valmiki]]
File:Jean-de-la-fontaine.jpg|[[Jean de La Fontaine]]
File:Sulkhan Saba, 1700s miniature.jpg|[[Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani]]
File:John Gay - Project Gutenberg eText 13790.jpg|[[John Gay]]
File:Christian Fürchtegott Gellert.jpg|[[Christian Fürchtegott Gellert]]
File:Lessing in blue.jpg|[[Gotthold Ephraim Lessing]]
File:Ignacy Krasicki 111.PNG|[[Ignacy Krasicki]]
File:Samaniego.jpg|[[Félix María de Samaniego]]
File:Tomas de Iriarte Joaquin Inza.jpg|[[Tomás de Iriarte y Oropesa]]
File:Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian.jpg|[[Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian]]
File:Ivan Krylov.jpg|[[Ivan Krylov]]
File:Dositej obradovic Novi Sad.png|[[Dositej Obradović]]
File:Andersen-hc.jpg|[[Hans Christian Andersen]]
File:Abierce.jpg|[[Ambrose Bierce]]
File:Joel Chandler Harris ("Uncle Remus").jpg|[[Joel Chandler Harris]]
File:Wladyslaw Reymont 1897 (71364799) (cropped).jpg|[[Władysław Reymont]]
File:Felix Salten 1910.jpg|[[Felix Salten]]
File:Don Marquis.jpg|[[Don Marquis]]
File:James Thurber NYWTS.jpg|[[James Thurber]]
File:GeoreOrwell.jpg|[[George Orwell]]
</gallery>

==Classic==
*[[Aesop]] (mid-6th century [[BCE]]), author/s of ''[[Aesop's Fables]]''
*[[Vishnu Sarma]] ({{Circa|200 BCE}}), author of the [[anthropomorphic]] political treatise and fable collection, the ''[[Panchatantra]]''
*[[Bidpai]] ({{Circa|200 BCE}}), author of [[Sanskrit]] ([[Hindu]]) and [[Pali]] ([[Buddhist]]) animal fables in verse and prose, sometimes derived from [[Jataka tales]]
*[[Syntipas]] ({{Circa|100 BCE}}), [[India]]n [[philosopher]], reputed author of a collection of tales known in [[Europe]] as ''[[Seven Wise Masters|The Story of the Seven Wise Masters]]''
*[[Gaius Julius Hyginus]] (Hyginus, [[Latin]] author, native of [[Spain]] or [[Alexandria]], {{Circa|64 BCE}} – 17 CE), author of the ''Fabulae''
*[[Phaedrus (fabulist)|Phaedrus]] (15 BCE – 50 CE), [[Roman Republic|Roman]] fabulist, by birth a [[Ancient Macedonians|Macedonian]]
*[[Nizami Ganjavi]] ([[Persia]]n, 1141–1209)
*[[Walter of England]] (12th century), [[Anglo-Normans|Anglo-Norman]] poet, published ''Aesop's Fables'' in [[distich]]s {{Circa|1175}}
*[[Marie de France]] (12th century)
*[[Rumi|Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī]] ([[Persia]]n, 1207–1273)
*[[Vardan Aygektsi]] (died 1250), Armenian priest and fabulist
*[[Berechiah ha-Nakdan]] (Berechiah the Punctuator, or [[Linguist|Grammarian]], 13th century), author of [[Jewish]] fables adapted from [[Aesop]]'s Fables
*[[Robert Henryson]] ([[Scotland|Scottish]], 15th century), author of ''[[The Morall Fabillis of Esope the Phrygian]]''
*[[Leonardo da Vinci]] ([[Italy|Italian]], 1452–1519)
*[[Biernat of Lublin]] ([[Poland|Polish]], 1465? &ndash; after 1529)
*[[Jean de La Fontaine]] ([[France|French]], 1621–1695)
*[[Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani]] ([[Georgia (country)|Georgian]], 1658–1725), author of [[A Book of Wisdom and Lies|''The Book of Wisdom and Lies'']]
*[[Bernard de Mandeville]] ([[England|English]], 1670–1733), author of ''[[The Fable of the Bees]]''
*[[John Gay]] ([[England|English]], 1685–1732)
*[[Christian Fürchtegott Gellert]] ([[Germany|German]], 1715–1769)
*[[Gotthold Ephraim Lessing]] ([[Germany|German]], 1729–1781)
*[[Ignacy Krasicki]] ([[Poland|Polish]], 1735–1801), author of ''[[Fables and Parables]]'' (1779) and ''New Fables'' (published 1802)
*[[Dositej Obradović]] ([[Serbia]]n, 1739–1811)
*[[Félix María de Samaniego]] ([[Spain|Spanish]], 1745–1801), best known for "The Ant and the Cicade"
*[[Tomás de Iriarte]] ([[Spain|Spanish]], 1750–91)
*[[Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian]], ([[France|French]], 1755–94), author of ''Fables'' (published 1802)
*[[Ivan Dmitriev]] ([[Russia]], 1760–1837)
*[[Ivan Krylov]] ([[Russia]]n, 1769–1844)
*[[Hans Christian Andersen]] ([[Denmark|Danish]], 1805–1875)

==Modern==
{{Literature}}
*[[Leo Tolstoy]] (1828–1910)
*[[Rafael Pombo]] (1833–1912), [[Colombia]]n fabulist, poet, writer
*[[Ambrose Bierce]] (1842–?1914)
*[[Joel Chandler Harris]] (1848–1908)
*[[Sholem Aleichem]] (1859–1916)
*[[George Ade]] (1866–1944), ''Fables in Slang'', etc.
*[[Władysław Reymont]] (1868–1925)
*[[Felix Salten]] (1869–1945)
*[[Don Marquis]] (1878–1937), author of the fables of [[archy and mehitabel]]
*[[Franz Kafka]] (1883–1924)
*[[Damon Runyon]] (1884–1946)
*[[James Thurber]] (1894–1961), ''[[Fables for Our Time and Famous Poems Illustrated|Fables for Our Time]]'' and ''Further Fables for Our Time''
*[[George Orwell]] (1903–1950)
*[[Dr. Seuss]] (1904–1991)
*[[Isaac Bashevis Singer]] (1904–1991)
*[[Nankichi Niimi]] (1913–1943), Japanese author and poet
*[[Sergey Mikhalkov]] (1913–2009), Soviet author of children's books
*[[Pierre Gamarra]] (1919–2009)
*[[Richard Adams]]  (1920–2016), author of ''[[Watership Down]]''
*[[José Saramago]] (1922–2010), [[Portugal|Portuguese]] writer, author of ''[[Ensaio sobre a cegueira]]''
*[[Italo Calvino]] (1923–1985), ''[[Cosmicomics]]'' etc.
*[[Arnold Lobel]] (1933–87), author of ''Fables'', winner 1981 [[Caldecott Medal]]
*[[Ramsay Wood]] (born 1943), author of ''Kalila and Dimna: Fables of Friendship and Betrayal''
*[[Bill Willingham]] (born 1956), author of ''[[Fables (Vertigo)|Fables]]'' graphic novels
*[[David Sedaris]] (born 1956), author of ''[[Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk]]''
*[[Hayao Miyazaki]] (born 1941), [[Japan]]ese filmmaker, director of ''[[Spirited Away]]''
*[[Guillermo del Toro]]<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kermode|first1=Mark|title=''The Devil's Backbone:'' The Past Is Never Dead . . .|url=https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/2850-the-devil-s-backbone-the-past-is-never-dead|website=The Criterion Collection|access-date=25 June 2016|date=30 July 2013|quote=For those with a weakness for the beautiful monsters of modern cinema, del Toro has earned himself a reputation as the finest living exponent of fabulist film.}}</ref> (born 1964), [[Mexico|Mexican]] filmmaker, director of ''[[Pan's Labyrinth]]''
*[[Pendleton Ward]] (born 1982), American animator, creator of ''[[Adventure Time]]''

==Notable fable collections==

*''[[Aesop's Fables]]'' by [[Aesop]]
*''[[Jataka tales]]''
*''[[Panchatantra]]'' by [[Vishnu Sarma]]
*''[[Baital Pachisi]]'' (also known as ''Vikram and The Vampire'')
*''[[Hitopadesha]]''
*''[[Kalīla wa-Dimna]]''
*''[[A Book of Wisdom and Lies]]'' by [[Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani]]
*''[[Seven Wise Masters]]'' by [[Syntipas]]
*''[[One Thousand and One Nights]]'' (also known as ''Arabian Nights'', {{Circa|800–900}})
*''[[La Fontaine's Fables|Fables]]'' (1668–1694) by [[Jean de La Fontaine]]
*''[[Fables and Parables]]'' (1779) by [[Ignacy Krasicki]]
*''[[Fairy Tales Told for Children. First Collection.|Fairy Tales]]'' (1837) by [[Hans Christian Andersen]]
*''[[Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings]]'' (1881) by [[Joel Chandler Harris]]
*''Fantastic Fables'' (1899) by [[Ambrose Bierce]]
*''[[Fables for Our Time and Famous Poems Illustrated|Fables for Our Time]]'' (1940) by [[James Thurber]]
*''[[99 Fables]]'' (1960) by [[William March]]
*''Collected Fables'' (2000) by [[Ambrose Bierce]], edited by [[S. T. Joshi]]

==See also==
{{portal|Novels|Children's literature}}
{{Category see also|Fabulists}}
* [[Allegory]]
* [[Animal tale]]
* [[Anthropomorphism]]
* [[Apologia]]
* [[Apologue]]
* [[Fabel]]
* ''[[Fables (comics)|Fables]]''
* [[Fairy tale]]
* [[Fantastique]]
* [[Ghost story]]
* [[Parable]]
* [[Proverb]]
* [[Wisdom]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
{{EB1911 poster|Fable}}
{{Commons category|Fables}}
*{{cite book | last = Buckham | first = Philip Wentworth | title = Theatre of the Greeks | publisher = J. Smith | year = 1827|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_IjAZAAAAYAAJ | quote = The Theatre of the Greeks. }}
*[http://www.studylight.org/desk/?l=en&query=fable&section=0&translation=kjv&oq=&sr=1 King James Bible]; ''New Testament (authorised)''.
*DLR [David Lee Rubin]. "Fable in Verse", ''The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics''.
*Read fables by [http://fairytalez.com/author/aesops-fables/ Aesop] and [http://fairytalez.com/author/la-fontaine/ La Fontaine]

==Further reading==
* {{cite web |title=Three Modern Fables to Capture Your Imagination |date=3 Jan 2011 |website=NPR : All Things Considered |author=Gish Jen |format=Audio with transcript |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/01/17/132621436/three-modern-fables-to-capture-your-imagination}}
* {{cite web |title=The Challenge of Modern Fables: Ben Loory's Erudite Surrealism |author=Tobias Carroll |date=29 Sep 2017 |website=Tor.com |url=https://www.tor.com/2017/09/29/the-challenge-of-modern-fables-ben-loorys-erudite-surrealism/}}
* {{cite web |title=Modern Fables |author=Robert Spencer Knotts |website=The Humanity Project |url=http://www.thehumanityproject.com/fables}}

{{Folklore genres}}
{{Fantasy fiction}}
{{Fiction writing}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Allegory]]
[[Category:Fables]]
[[Category:Folklore]]
[[Category:Narrative techniques]]
[[Category:Persuasion techniques]]
[[Category:Short story types]]
[[Category:Traditional stories]]