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·树丫》
乡人多以树之丫叉，支为坐凳者。
父命其子求之山中，子持斧去，竞日，徒手归。你责之。子曰：“丫叉尽有，奈都是朝上生的。”
——《笑府》
Tree Forks
The people living on a certain mountain use tree forks for stool legs.
A father sent his son to get one. The son took an axe and went. But at the end of the day he came back empty-handed. When his father scolded him, he answered, “Of course, there are plenty of tree forks there but they all grow upwards.”
Xiao Fu (Treasure-House of Jokes)
（杨宪益、戴乃迭 译）
