古代寓言原是民间口头创作，文学体裁的一种。含有讽喻或明显教训意义的故事。它的结构简短。主人公可以是人，可以是动物，也可以是无生物。多借用比喻手法，使富有教训意义的主题或深刻的道理在简单的故事中体现，而还需要自己去理解，思考，这就是和西方寓言的不同之处。
Ancient fables were originally folk oral creations and a literary genre. A story with allegorical or obvious lesson significance. Its structure is short. The protagonist can be a human, an animal, or an inanimate object. The difference between Western fables and Western fables lies in the use of metaphorical techniques to convey meaningful themes or profound truths in simple stories, while also requiring one’s own understanding and contemplation.
《古代寓言·铁杵磨针》
李白少读书，未成，弃去。道逢老妪磨杵，白问其故。曰：“欲作针。”白感其言。遂卒业。
——《潜确类书》
Grinding an Iron Pestle into a Needle
A schoolboy was playing truant in the street when he saw an old woman grinding an iron pestle on a stone.
Being curious, he asked her what she was doing.
“I am going to grind it into a needle to sew cloth with,” answered the old woman.
The child laughed. “But this is much a big pestle, how can you hope to grind it down to a needle?”
“It doesn’t matter,” replied the old woman. “Today I grind it, tomorrow I’ll grind it again, and the day after tomorrow again. The pestle will get smaller every day, and one day it will be a needle.”
The child saw the point and went to school.
Qian Que Lei Shu
（杨宪益、戴乃迭 译）
