Example of a Short Fable

Hearing the word fable, some people must be reminded of a childhood full of picture stories that tell the lives of animals and human behavior. Fables are more familiar to the public as fairy tales about animals. The true definition of fable according to the Big Dictionary LanguageIndonesia is a story that describes the character and mind of humans whose actors are played by animals (containing moral education and character). So briefly, fable is defined as the life of an animal whose behavior resembles that of a human.

word Fable is etymologically derived from the Latin "fibula" which means "story". Fable is part of literature in the form of a brief and short story that aims to convey a moral message. The story in a fable can't be a true story because everything is just a fiction made up by the author for moral education and the like. This causes all the stories told are only fantasy because basically fables are written with the intention of satirizing human behavior or character.

Writing a fable must also pay attention to several aspects including the structure of the writing; writing elements; and the message to be conveyed through the story. The following will describe the aspects that exist in fable writing, the general characteristics of a fable, along with the types of fables that exist.

Fable Structure

The structure of fable writing starts from the orientation stage which then continues on to complications, resolutions, and coda. The explanation of these stages is as follows,

1. Orientation
   At this stage, the characters who will appear in the story are introduced. Starting from the characters who play a good role (protagonist), evil (antagonist), and mediator. In addition to introducing the characters, this stage also introduces the setting of place and time in the story.
2. Complications
   The complication stage is also known as the peak or conflict stage. At the stage of conflict in the story, there will be problems faced by the characters in the story. The conflict is related to the character of each character.
3. Resolution
   The resolution stage is referred to as the conflict resolution stage experienced by the characters in the story. The resolution will bring out the awareness of each character and is usually accompanied by an apology from the character who caused the problem.
4. code
   Called coda which can be interpreted as a stage of the mandate. At this stage, the character experiences a change in attitude and behavior message morals can be taken by the audience of the story.

These four structures must be present in the writing of a fable to enable the fable to be considered intact and worth reading apart from the language and storyline.

Fable Characteristics

In general, the characteristics of a fable can be seen from several things, such as the following:

• Using animal characters in storytelling
• The theme in the fable is about social relationships
• Animals who are asked to be characters can talk and behave like humans
• Shows a depiction of morals, human character (tempered, deceitful, patient), as well as criticism that usually comes from social life that is going on
• Short story
• Using diction and vocabulary that is easy to understand, the language in fables is narrative (sequential)
• Point of view in third person
• The storyline uses a forward plot
• Often uses open nature settings (forests, rivers, trees, mountains)
• It contains a valuable moral message or message for its readers.

Fable Elements

Identification of a fable can be done by observing the following elements:

• Theme, which describes the main idea or idea of ​​a story
• Characters, in fables the characters in question are actors (animals) involved in the story
• Background, this element includes place, time, social, and emotional
• The character's character includes human-like traits
• Conflicts, problems in the story
• Storytelling, including the point of view used in the story (often in the third person)
• The mandate, contains the moral message contained in the story
• A plot or storyline, many of which use a forward plot
• The purpose of fables, ranging from entertaining, educating, or simply inspiring
• Message, contains the message the author wants to convey to the reader

Types of Fables

1. Based on the use of background and characterization, fables are divided into:

• Natural Fable
  is a fable that equates the character (animal) with the original character. For example, a butterfly that has beautiful colors and has a soft and charming character depiction, a character that is depicted by a wolf whose original character is greedy and savage, as well as a deer who is known for his clever character legendary.
• Adaptation Fable
  is a fable that describes the nature of the characters (animals) inversely or different from their original nature. For example, a snail who is known to be slow to become a champion driving a car on the highway, or a wild tiger is said to have owned an orphanage by being the favorite caregiver for its inhabitants.

2. Based on the core and content story, fable is divided into:

• Romantic Fables, which is a fable that tells the story of romance, and romance
• Fable of Tragedy, is a fable that tells a sad story and invites sympathy from the reader.
• Funny Fables, is a fable that contains funny stories and entertains the reader, and is even expected to make the reader laugh.
• Heroic Fable, is a fable that tells the story of heroism or struggle

3. Based on the origin or scope of fables, they are divided into three types:

• Local Fable, also called regional fables, namely fables originating from an area and spread over the area
• Archipelago Fable, is a fable that originates from an area and spreads throughout the archipelago.
• International Fable, namely fables that originate from a country and spread to all corners of the world.

4. Based on the appearance of the message or message, fables are divided into:

• Fables of Koda, is a fable that has a clear message or message at the end of the story.
• Non-Coda Fables, is a fable whose message or message is not conveyed clearly or implicitly.

Fable Example

1. Ants and the Grasshopper

In the warm summer and bright a little tempting Grasshopper to play his favorite violin while singing and dancing. Almost every day that's what grasshoppers do. He didn't think about doing other activities such as working or preparing to collect winter supplies.

It never crossed the grasshopper's mind that the summer he was enjoying now was coming to an end. The summer that made him cheerful is about to turn to winter, where rain will descend heavily with temperature very low air.

While the grasshopper was playing the violin, he saw an ant that was actively passing through his house. The grasshopper who was still cheerful wanted to invite the ants to play together and he invited the ants to have fun at the grasshopper's residence.

Unexpectedly the grasshopper turned out to be an ant politely rejecting the grasshopper's invitation, the ant said to the grasshopper,
“Sorry Grasshopper, I still want to work for winter supplies. I have to gather a large stockpile of food and repair the shelter to be warmer.”

"Stop thinking about unimportant things, ants, let's sing and have fun, let's enjoy our lives," said the grasshopper. The grasshopper is still in the habit of having fun without thinking about anything.
To think summer ended so much sooner than usual. Grasshoppers who are used to being happy then panicked. He did not have sufficient food supplies plus his house was damaged and uninhabitable due to the storm.

With high hopes and weak grasshoppers went to the ant's house and asked for help to be allowed to live together and asked for food. Hearing the request the ant replied, "I'm sorry grasshopper I can't help you, my house is too narrow for you, and my provisions are only enough for my family".
The grasshopper finally left the ant house with regret and sadness. In his heart he muttered, "If only I had followed the advice of the ants at that time to work hard, surely now I can be full and sleep soundly in the house".

over.
Message: Use your time as well as possible for useful things, because what will happen tomorrow we never know.

2. The Fox and the Goat (By Tony Ireland)

On a dark night, it was the usual time for the Fox to stroll around the wilderness. Unfortunately, that night, the fox fell into a deep well. The fox used various ways to get himself out of the well, such as jumping, climbing, and even asking for help by shouting.
Unfortunately, none of these efforts were successful. With no way out for the fox, in the end he had to accept the night in the well and wait for the next day's help.

The next morning, a goat passed by the well where the fox had stayed all night. The innocent goat was attracted to look into the well and how surprised the goat was to see a fox in the deep well. The goat asked the fox,

"Sorry fox, what were you doing in the well?"
"I went down to this well because I was thirsty, it turns out that the water in this well is the best water" ever, if you want to try to feel it come down here”, replied the fox with intention cunning.

Innocently and without thinking, the goat went down into the well and drank as much water as possible. But after being full, the goat panicked because it couldn't get out of the well. The fox's cunning sense reappeared and said, “Goat, I have an idea. Try to stand on your hind legs and take me out after that I will help you from above.”

The goat did not think anymore and immediately followed the idea of ​​the fox which actually harmed him. He helped the fox out with his feet, while the fox instead said,

"If you were smart, you wouldn't go into a place without thinking about how to get out of it." The fox walked away, leaving the goat trapped in the well.

over.
Message: before deciding something must be accompanied by careful thought of all the risks, to avoid regrets in the future.

3. The Rabbit and the Tortoise (Aesop's Works)

One day in a forest, there was a tortoise who intended to challenge a rabbit who was known to be arrogant in a fast running competition. The tortoise dared to challenge the hare because he had previously been insulted by the hare. Turtles are considered as slow and stupid animals.

When he heard the challenge from the tortoise, the hare thoughtlessly accepted the challenge with confidence. "This turtle is stupid to challenge me to run, even though it's clear the winner is me," said the rabbit in his heart. The rabbit left the tortoise with a cynical smile.

The next day, a long path has been prepared for the two of them to race. The other animals were already curious to watch the race. The other animal's support goes to the tortoise, who is very kind and at the same time annoyed by the hare's arrogant behavior.

Serving as a referee, a monkey who was asked to give a signal to signal the start of the race. In a short time the hare took the lead, but the tortoise didn't just give up. The tortoise ran faster.
A few moments passed. After running fast, the rabbit felt tired in the middle of the journey. He muttered, “The tortoise is still far behind me, I think I can rest for a while to recover.” The rabbit leaned under a tree and fell asleep there.

Some time later he woke up and was surprised, the hare wished the tortoise was still behind him. The rabbit quickly ran towards the finish line. The hare still believes in his victory against the tortoise. But reality says otherwise, the turtles have arrived first at the finish line. It turned out that the rabbit had slept long enough under the tree, so the tortoise got the victory. Everyone cheered happily, the rabbit finally left in shame.

over.
Message: arrogance will only cause badness

4. Bear and Bee

One day a bear was walking through the forest in search of food. The bear intends to find fruit for food for several days. The bear accidentally found a fallen tree. The tree turned out to be inhabited by bees that were making a nest. The bear was curious about the bee's nest.

The bear began to sniff the nest with his nose. Carefully the bear looked into the nest. The bear hopes that the bees are not in the hive so that he can take the honey that is in it.
Unfortunately for the bear, it turned out that when he looked into the nest, a swarm of bees was heading to the nest after looking for food essence from the flowers. It was unavoidable that the thousands of bees attacked the bears.

The bear fiercely tried to fight him and ran to his house. But the swarms of bees are getting fiercer and instead call bees from several hives in the forest to help chase the bears. In the end, the bear couldn't dodge and let his body be bitten off by a swarm of bees.

over.
Message: should not be in a hurry to do something and think about the feelings of others who may be disturbed by what we are going to do.

From several examples of short fables above, at least it can be described that fables are: stories or stories about animals that describe human nature with the intention of being satirical as well as education moral.

That's an article that discusses examples of short fables, hopefully it's useful!