Parables and fables are two age-old vehicles through which lessons can be imparted. Their short stories are in forms of wisdom sharing, but they pertain to different categories. Fables usually involve animals; they are human-animal used to bring simple, practical moral lessons, dramatized often, and often funny. On the other hand, a parable uses real people in realistic conditions to expose deeper spiritual or philosophical truths to the audience. Both forms of storytelling thus meaningfully educate in an easily digestible, relatable, and compelling way.
Fables
Fables are typically very short tales featuring moral or practical lessons; they often contain talking or anthropomorphized animals. Although characters often represent anthropomorphic animals, they typically demonstrate some human quality, such as avarice, kindness, or craftiness. These are ordinarily extremely simple stories and purport to teach a clear practical lesson applicable in everyday life. Fables teach a lesson, for example, Aesop's fables, like The Hara and Tortoise, which inculcates the lesson of perseverance and humility, and The Fox and the Grapes, which illustrates rationalization of failures. The real charm of this is the simplicity and the universal truths it conveys in a very engaging and memorable manner.
Parables
A parable is simply a small story with a group of human characters in order to present a specific deeper moral, spiritual, or philosophical lesson. They are more complex than fables and are intended to be reflected upon and interpreted. Parables mostly belong to the realm of religious and philosophical texts. For example, the parables of Jesus in the Bible, like The Good Samaritan that preaches compassion and kindness, and The Prodigal Son that teaches forgiveness and redemption. Parables are, as one might say, earthly in real-life events; whereas fables are stories which are relayed to provoke some thought or reflection before their messages can be uncovered by the audience.
Conclusion
To draw a close, the fable and the parable both serve as excellent forms of enduring storytelling that bring into endure immeasurable teaching lessons in the life of an individual, vis--vis society's values. They provide an insight into societal virtues through clear and direct narratives, with anthropomorphic characters that narrate practical wisdom into easy and memorable forms. Good parables, too, delve into much deeper moral, spiritual, or philosophical considerations through the lens of human experience that is told through realistic scenarios and encourage reflection followed by personal interpretation. These two forms show that amazing power can be put into the story when it is told to inspire, educate, and bond people together long after their generations and cultures have faded into history.