Which statement defines a fable?

• A. A tale in which animals, plants, and forces of nature act like humans and teaches a moral.
• B. A story that entertains with magical events.
• C. A narrative about real events in history.
• D. A nonfiction essay about ethics.

Answer: (A)

Fables are short, fictional stories that use talking animals, or personified elements of nature, to illustrate a moral or lesson. The animals act like humans to show behaviors and consequences in a simple, relatable way, and the takeaway is often stated at the end as the moral. That combination of anthropomorphism and a clear lesson is what makes the statement describe a fable most accurately.

The other ideas describe different kinds of writing: magical events point to fantasy rather than a practical lesson; real historical events are non-fiction and aim to report what happened, not to teach through a narrative with talking animal characters; and a nonfiction ethics essay explains ideas about right and wrong without using a story to illustrate them.