Short Fables Example

The short fables They are a fictional narrative genre form that among its main characteristics is the fact that they are not large, they can even be presented in verse or prose format; being this the most used. The purpose of this type of texts is in the pedagogical effort to highlight values ​​you want to teach children. That is to say, it is aimed at proposing what is called a moral when the fable is finished reading.

The moral is the teaching that the fable leaves us.

Regarding the presentation of characters, these they can be both humans and animals that come to have dialogues within fiction. The final idea is that within the development of the story, the elements, scenarios and events that allow to present the teaching what do you want to carry out about one aspect of life.

From the point of view of history, there is a reference that these had their origin in the time when the slaves of the empire Greco-Roman, they tried to transmit by word of mouth teachings of an ethical nature to children, that was the pedagogical function of said slaves.

From those times to the present day, many fable writers have tried, in addition to teaching, simply to entertain children. One of the maximum exponents of this genre is the one that emerged in the seventeenth century who was the author of French origin Jean de la Fontaine.

Another of the most recognized authors of this genre is the well-known Spanish writer called Felix Maria Samaniego, which has managed to create a wide work in this sense and has become a reference today regarding fables.

One of the interesting contributions that he developed is the important use of verse in the writing of his fables, something that as we saw was less explored. In addition, the content manifested a strong criticism of the moral values ​​and certain customs that were being presented and that broke, according to their criteria, the order of social norms.

Examples of short fables

1.- The boy and the sweets

It was September 21 and all the children, happy after a long summer, were going back to school. Being the first day, the teacher brought a jar full of trinkets to class to welcome the new school year. One of the students ran out first for the sweets.

Once he took all the sweets that he could, when he tried to remove his hand, the neck of the container did not allow him to do so. The child was crying and crying bitterly, but a friend who was close to him told him: -Conform yourself with taking only half and so you can take out your hand with the sweets.

Moral: do not be selfish, greedy and choose only what you need. As the saying goes "who covers a lot, little squeezes".

2- The hare and the tortoise

Once, a hare made fun of the short legs and slow walking of a tortoise, however, it did not remain silent and she defended throwing a laugh and saying to the hare: - You may be a very fast friend hare, but, I am more than sure that I will be able to win you one race.

The hare, surprised by what the turtle told him, accepted the challenge without thinking twice, since she was very sure that she would win the turtle with her eyes closed. Then, they both proposed to the fox that she be the one to point out the way and the goal.

Days later, the expected moment of the race arrived, and when the count of three sounded, the race of these two contenders began. The turtle did not stop walking and walking, but at its slow pace, it advanced calmly towards the goal.

Instead the hare ran so fast that he left the tortoise far behind. Turning around and no longer seeing her, the hare was sure of his success on the run and decided to take a nap.

Shortly after, the hare woke up and he saw if the tortoise still did not reach behind, but when he looked towards the goal, he saw the turtle very close to the end, and in a desperate attempt to run as fast as he could, the turtle came and he won.

Moral: the teaching is that goals are achieved little by little, with work and effort. Although sometimes we seem slow, success will always come.

3.- The Flea and the Man

A man enjoys a good sleep when he suddenly began to feel itchy all over his body.

Annoyed by the situation, he searched his entire bed to see what was causing them so much trouble. After searching for him, he found a tiny flea and said the following words:

- Who do you think you are an insignificant creature, to be biting me all over my body and not letting me enjoy my well-deserved rest?

- The flea replied: Excuse me sir, it was not my intention to bother you in any way; I ask you please to let me continue living, because because of my small size I don't think I can bother you much. The man, laughing at the occurrences of the flea, said:

- I'm sorry little flea, but I can't do anything but end your life forever, since I don't have any reason to continue putting up with your bites, no matter how big or small it may be the prejudice that causes.

Moral: It teaches us that anyone who hurts another person must be willing to face the consequences. Since when one bothers, assaults or offends other colleagues, he must know that his actions will be followed by consequences.