Narration intended to enforce a useful truth, especially one in which animals or inanimate objects speak and act like human beings.
Unlike a folktale, it has a moral that is woven into the story and often explicitly formulated at the end. The Western fable tradition began with tales ascribed to Aesop . It flourished in the Middle Ages, reached a high point in 17th-century France in the works of Jean de La Fontaine , and found a new audience in the 19th century with the rise of children's literature. Fables also have ancient roots in the literary and religious traditions of India, China, and Japan.