This has come to be the commonly accepted name for the well-known
collection of stories about animals, though we cannot be sure that any
of them, were written by the Greek slave of that name, who, Herodotus
tells us, lived about the year 55O B.C. The fable about animals is
probably the oldest form of story known. Its object is to teach a
lesson to men and women, without seeming to do so, and because of this
concealed lesson it has always been a great favorite with all nations.
In Russia, for example, where a man did not dare say what he thought
about a Government officer, he could tell a fable about the Dog in the
Manger.