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·白头猪》
往时辽东有豕，生子白头，异而献之；行至河东，见豕皆白，怀惭而还。
——《后汉书》
The Pig with the White Head
Once in Liaodong a swineherds sow farrowed a piglet with a white head, and thinking it a prodigy he decided to present it to the court. When he reached Hedong, however, he found that all the pigs there had white heads; so he went sheepishly home.
–The Later Han History
（杨宪益、戴乃迭 译）
