fable

Everyday

1. A short story, often with animals that talk, that teaches a lesson called a moral, like Aesop's «The Tortoise and the Hare». tree →
2. A story that is not true, a myth or legend. tree →
3. (informal) A lie or made-up claim: «His story about the shark was pure fable.» tree →

In the lessons

In English lessons pupils read fables and find the moral («Slow and steady wins the race»). Writers like Aesop and La Fontaine are famous for fables. In everyday talk «fable» can mean something that is not true. Phrases: «Aesop's fables», «the moral of the fable», «fact and fable».

Examples

• «The Tortoise and the Hare» is a famous fable. tree →
• The moral of the fable is «Don't tell lies». tree →
• Aesop wrote many fables about animals. tree →
• We wrote our own fable about a greedy fox. tree →
• In the fable, the ant works hard while the grasshopper plays. tree →
• His tale of seeing a dragon was just a fable. tree →
• It has no correspondence with the pure Æsopian fable.] tree →

Note

Countable. Adjective: fabled (famous in stories) and fabulous (wonderful, first meant «like a fable»). Difference: a fable teaches a moral; a fairy tale has magic; a parable (like Jesus's) teaches a spiritual lesson with people, not talking animals.