I used to read a lot of fables when I was a pupil, some of them being part of the literature curricula. One of them which I remember vividly was called: The Crab, the Frog and the Pike and told the story of these three creatures that wanted to remove a bag full of wheat from the bottom of a pond. They tried to do this by joining forces, since none of them was strong enough to do the job by himself. But they all pulled in different directions and didn't manage to take the bag out of the water. The message of the fable is that even if we have the same goal and are aware that together we are stronger, we must join forces in an organized manner, applying the best strategy to reach our goal.

I have always enjoyed fables more than parables while growing up. I guess having animals to teach us life lessons has always appealed more to me.

Being part bunny myself, I can truly relate to Aesop's fable of The Hare and the Tortoise.
I have always thought that the lesson learned in just that short story can save a lifetime of strife.

By taking the time to truly learn something or do something and focus while you are doing it, can be a priceless gift to teach someone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXn1JF5hOqY

One of my favorite Fables by Krasicki is called the Two Dogs. I like his short rhyming.

"Why do I freeze out of doors while you sleep on a rug?"
Inquired the bobtail mongrel of the fat, sleek pug.
"I have run of the house, and you the run of a chain,"
The pug replied, "because you serve, while I entertain."

My favorite parable is the biblical story of the road to Jericho. This is where the term "Good Samaritan" comes from. A man lies dying on the side of the road and many passers by find an excuse not to help him, including religious men. One decides to stop and help the man out of love, empathy and concern. Dr. King in his Mountaintop Speech said, "This was the good man, this was the great man."

Speech excerpt:

One day a man came to Jesus, and he wanted to raise some questions about some vital matters of life. At points he wanted to trick Jesus, and show him that he knew a little more than Jesus knew and throw him off base....

Now that question could have easily ended up in a philosophical and theological debate. But Jesus immediately pulled that question from mid-air, and placed it on a dangerous curve between Jerusalem and Jericho. And he talked about a certain man, who fell among thieves. You remember that a Levite and a priest passed by on the other side. They didn't stop to help him. And finally a man of another race came by. He got down from his beast, decided not to be compassionate by proxy. But he got down with him, administered first aid, and helped the man in need. Jesus ended up saying, this was the good man, this was the great man, because he had the capacity to project the "I" into the "thou," and to be concerned about his brother.

I even like to write them! Here's one:

The Benevolent Farmer?

On a farm, there was a flock of chickens. One chicken started talking with another, remarking "How good our farmer has been to us. I think he is an awfully nice man, because he comes every morning to feed us." The other chicken nodded in agreement, adding "and he has been feeding each and everyone of us here every day like clockwork, every day without fail since we were all just little baby chicks." Indeed, when queried, most of the other chickens clucked in agreement about how benevolent their farmer was.
But there was one chicken, intelligent but eccentric, who countered saying "How do you know he is all that good? I remember, not too long ago, that there were some older chickens who were taken away, and I haven't seen them since. What ever happened to them?"

Some of the chickens may have slept a little uneasy that night, but in the morning the farmer came as usual, this time scattering even more corn around. The chickens ate this with gusto, and this dispelled any remaining doubts about the benevolence of the farmer. "You see, there is nothing to worry about. Our farmer had a little extra food, so he gave it to us because he likes us! He is a good man," remarked one chicken to the others, and they all nodded in agreement, all of them, that is, except one.

The intelligent but eccentric chicken became even more agitated. "He is just fattening us up! We are going to be slaughtered in a weeks time!" he squawked in alarm. But nobody listened. All the other chickens just thought he was a troublemaker.

A week later, all the chickens were placed into cages, loaded onto a truck, and driven to the slaughterhouse.

The End

Moral of the story: You cannot always induce the truth from past experience!