A fable is a short story, usually featuring animals as characters, that illustrates a moral lesson. The animals behave according to recognizable human types.

Aesop’s fables established the pattern in the West: the fox and the grapes, the tortoise and the hare, the ant and the grasshopper. The narratives are brief, the characterization is simple, and the moral is often stated explicitly at the end. Similar traditions exist in many cultures. Because the characters are animals, the stories can criticize human behavior with a degree of indirection and charm that softens the didactic edge.

Fables differ from fairy tales and myths by their brevity and their clear ethical purpose. They are among the earliest forms of literature used for teaching children, yet they continue to amuse and instruct adults. Modern writers occasionally adapt the form for political or satirical ends while retaining the talking animals and the pointed conclusion.

A compact tale in which animals enact a human moral is a fable.