From Richard Nordquist,
Your Guide to Grammar & Composition.
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Definition:

Fictional story meant to teach a moral lesson. One of the progymnasmata. See:

• "The Haunted Mind," by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• "A Fable," by Mark Twain
• What Are the Progymnasmata?

Etymology:

From the Latin, "to speak"

Examples and Observations:

• "A famished fox saw some clusters of ripe black grapes hanging from a trellised vine. She resorted to all her tricks to get at them, but wearied herself in vain, for she could not reach them. At last she turned away, hiding her disappointment and saying: 'The Grapes are sour, and not ripe as I thought.'"
  ("The Fox and the Grapes," from Aesop's Fables)



• "A fox, seeing some sour grapes hanging within an inch of his nose, and being unwilling to admit that there was anything he would not eat, solemnly declared that they were out of his reach."
  (Ambrose Bierce, "The Fox and the Grapes")



• "Fable is more historical than fact, because fact tells us about one man and fable tells us about a million men."
  (Gilbert K. Chesterton)



• "A crow was sitting on a branch of a tree with a piece of cheese in her beak when a Fox observed her and set his wits to work to discover some way of getting the cheese.
  
  "Coming and standing under the tree he looked up and said, 'What a noble bird I see above me! Her beauty is without equal, the hue of her plumage exquisite. If only her voice is as sweet as her looks are fair, she ought without doubt to be Queen of the Birds.
  
  "The Crow was hugely flattered by this, and just to show the Fox that she could sing she gave a loud caw. Down came the cheese and the Fox, snatching it up, said, 'You have a voice, madam, I see: what you want is wits.'
  
  "Moral: DO NOT TRUST FLATTERERS"
  ("The Fox and the Crow," from Aesop's Fables)

Pronunciation: FAY-bel