Fable is a literary genre defined as a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects that behave and speak as human beings, told in order to highlight human follies and weaknesses. A moral—or lesson for behaviour—is woven into the story which may at the end be added explicitly as a concise maxim or saying.(1, 2)
The Western tradition of fable effectively begins with Aesop, a likely legendary figure to whom is attributed a collection of ancient Greek fables. For at least 2500 years they have been teaching people of all ages and every social status lessons how to choose correct actions and the likely consequences of choosing incorrect actions.(3) . Fables have always been considered educational means of communicating, building, and recording socio-cultural messages.
India has a rich tradition of fabulous novels, mostly explainable by the fact that the culture derives traditions and learns qualities from natural elements. Hundreds of fables were composed in ancient India during the first millennium BC, often as stories within frame stories. Indian fables have a mixed cast of humans and animals. The dialogues are often longer than in fables of Aesop and often witty as the animals try to outwit one another by trickery and deceit and the tales are often comical. The Indian fable adhered to the universally known traditions of the fable. The best examples of the fable in India are the Panchatantra and the Jataka Tales.(6)
The Panchatantra is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose, arranged within a frame story. The surviving work is dated to about 200 BCE, but the fables are likely much more ancient. “Tale of 3 fishes from Panchatantra.”
Hitopadesha (Hitopadeśa, “Beneficial Advice”) is an Indian text in the Sanskrit language consisting of fables with both animal and human characters. It incorporates maxims, worldly wisdom and advice on political affairs in simple, elegant language, and the work has been widely translated. Little is known about its origin. The surviving text is believed to be from the 12th-century, but was probably composed by Narayana between 800 and 950 CE. The oldest manuscript found in Nepal has been dated to the 14th century(1)
The Thousand and One Nights is collection of largely Middle Eastern and Indian stories
Many researches have been carried out and reviews have been published on importance of fables and folklores as flexible tool for learning various moral and educational lessons(4)
This is a knowledge-building process but one that is also grounded in a culture, a context, and laden with value and ethical assumptions that helps in in social shaping. A fable is meant to be both disarming and relatable, the universality of themes in the narrative would assume that the ethical precepts in the fable are resonant across cultures and quasi-universal in nature.(5)
SOURCE
- 1. Fable
- 2. fable (literature)
- 3. Aesop’s Fables
- 4. The psychoeducational role of fables: a qualitative analysis for good teaching
- 5. Using Folklore, Fables, and Storytelling as a Pedagogical Tool in Assessment Exams
- 6. Evolutional History of Fable Stories and Their Influence on Culture in Ancient World.
