clear and helpful account of the French writers of fables, the
most important modern group, read Collins, _La Fontaine and Other French
Fabulists_. Representative examples are given in most excellent
translation. The best complete translation of La Fontaine is by Elizur
Wright; of Krylov, in verse by I. H. Harrison, in prose by W. R. S.
Ralston; of Yriarte, by R. Rockliffe. Gay's complete collection may be
found in any edition of his poems.

Satisfactory collections of proverbial sayings useful in finding
expressions for the wisdom found in fables are Christy, _Proverbs,
Maxims, and Phrases of All Ages_; Hazlitt, _English Proverbs and
Proverbial Phrases_; Trench, _Proverbs and Their Lessons_.

A book of great suggestive value covering the whole field of the prose
story is Fansler, _Types of Prose Narratives_. It contains elaborate
classifications, discussions and examples of each type, and an extended
bibliography. Pp. 83-127 deal with fables, parables, and allegories.

SECTION V: FABLES AND SYMBOLIC STORIES

INTRODUCTORY

_The character and value of fables._ Some one has pointed out that there
are two kinds of ideals by which we are guided in life and that these
ideals may be compared to lighthouses and lanterns. By means of the
lighthouse, remote and lofty, we are able to lay a course and to know at
any time whether we are headed in the right direction. But while we are
moving along a difficult road we need more immediate illumination to
avoid the mudholes and stumbling-places close at hand. We need the
humble lantern to show us where we may safely step.

Fables are lanterns by which our feet are guided. They embody the
practical rules for everyday uses, rules of prudence that have been
tested and approved by untold generations of travelers along the arduous
road of life. They chart only minor dangers and difficult places as a
rule, but these are the ones with which we are always in direct contact.
Being honest because it is the "best policy" is not the highest reason
for honesty, but it is what a practical world has found to be best in
practice. Fables simply give us the "rules of the road," and these rules
contribute greatly to our convenience and safety. Such rules are the
result of the common sense of man working upon his everyday problems. To
violate one of these practical rules is to be a blunderer, and
blundering is a subject for jest rather than bitter denouncement. Hence
the humorous and satirical