by BrookeBurgess3

A FABLE is seen by many as a classic literary genre. Fables are presented as concise and poignant fantasy stories — told through prose, or even through verse — that feature animals, mystical creatures, and forces of nature that are 'anthropomorphized'. By giving these inhuman characters inherently human qualities (such as the ability to speak, have complex desires, and even to dream), the conflicts and transformations they undergo result in a deeper 'moral lesson' experienced by the reader.

FAIRY TALES, on the other hand, almost always involve an intersection of the human and fantasy worlds. There are still vital lessons to be learned within their pages, but the stories tend to be longer, a bit more complex, and often quite dark. From the famous children's stories of Hans Christian Andersen (The Little Mermaid, to the cautionary tales of The Brothers Grimm (Hansel and Gretel, etc) and Lewis Carol's trippy take on childhood innocence (Alice in Wonderland), right up to the modern yet mythical brilliance of Neil Gaiman (Coraline, Sandman, The Graveyard Book), fairytales were an inevitable and welcome 'evolution' of the fable genre.

Fables are considered to be one of the most enduring forms of folk literature. Since folk tales tended to be brief, the characters archetypal, and the message/moral in each one clearly defined, these earliest fables were spread orally — imagine stories told around the fire by shamans and gypsies and superstitious grandmothers, passed down generation after generation, achieving 'life' in the way that epic myths do. Eventually, these cherished tales found their way into print, becoming some of the earliest works translated and shared between cultures.

Though there is evidence of fables existing long before established 'civilization' flourished — in tribal African myths, Native American legends, and the oldest sacred texts of India — it was the legendary Aesop of ancient Greece (approx 550 BC) who popularized the form. What began as a set of 'teaching tools' in writing, debate, and public speaking for Aesop's students evolved over centuries into some of the best known stories in history. Sound like an exaggeration? Let me know if you've heard the one about the slow-and-steady Tortoise outracing the arrogant Hare. Or how about the brave little Mouse, who frees a Lion from a hunter's trap to repay the beast for sparing his life? We all know these stories, and many more like them, from childhood.

In modern times, fables have expanded in scope and complexity, particularly in the realm of books and films for children and young readers. Do you have a favourite Disney movie? If it involved talking animals and big life lessons — think Bambi, The Fox and the Hound, or The Lion King — then it's a fable. Is there a children's story with fantastic creatures in everyday worlds that seemed so filled with magic and importance that they stayed with you into adulthood? For me, Charlotte's Web, Watership Down, and The Chronicles of Narnia were literary fables that stuck, shaping my beliefs — about life and death, kindness and cruelty, responsibility and sacrifice, and more — to this very day. And when a story gets in you like this...?

It will shape what you write.

You see, I believe that fables have real power. The surface 'simplicity' in these kinds of narratives is deceptive, because the best ones are designed to reach into the deepest corners of our hearts and imaginations and take root at our most vulnerable stages of development — during our formative years. They ask the big questions, just when we are beginning to ask them ourselves:

• Who are we? And what's our place in the world?
• What's 'right' and 'wrong', and how can you tell the difference?
• Why do bad things happen, and how can we overcome them?
• What secrets can we learn from Nature, from the creatures living in it...and even from death itself?
• How can (and why should) we make the world a better place?

Each of us has a fable to share. A painful lesson learned, as a child or an adult, which could help others on their path through life. Told through the mouth of a tiger...or a titan...or a tree. Timeless wisdom, whispered on the wind...found in the forest...or sleeping in the sea.

The first part of mine is here on Wattpad. It has cats. And a boy. And a demon, hiding in their dreams.

What's your fable?

Example of Fable Fantasy on Wattpad:
The Cat's Maw by BrookeBurgess3

Synopsis:

In the sleepy town of Appleton, a young loner follows a stray cat onto the road and is struck by a car. A leg is shattered, a summer is ruined, and the troubled life of Billy Brahm goes from bad...to cursed.

When the mysterious cat appears at his bedside, Billy is haunted by strange and prophetic dreams -- the creatures in them speak of Watchers, and Shadows, and the Enemy that Awakens. Does this impossible realm hold the key to healing the broken boy? Is the golden-eyed cat there to help him...or to make the nightmares come true?

Too frightened to share the truth with his strict adoptive parents, Billy realizes that the only ones he can turn to are the local vet's daughter, the town's 'crazy cat lady'...

And a mystical tiger, beckoning from his dreams!

A BOY. A CAT. A NIGHTMARE IN TWO WORLDS!

If a modern-day Narnia fable was written by the love-child of Stephen King and Neil Gaiman? Then you'd have THE CAT'S MAW - the award-winning Mystery/Fantasy/Horror debut from Brooke Burgess (Broken Saints, Becoming, OZ: Broken Kingdom), for brave young readers, and cat lovers of all ages.

***WINNER***

BEST YA MYSTERY 2015_ -- Gelett Burgess Awards
SILVER MEDAL (Pre-Teen) 2015 -- Moonbeam Awards
TOP SHELF HONOREE 2015 -- VOYA Magazine (Middle Grade)
'Top 100 Children's Books to Read in a Lifetime -- GOODREADS
'One of 8 Great Novels Starring Cats' -- CATSTER

Excerpt:

"It'll be on us 'fore we have time to pray and pass water!" yelled a voice from high in the rigging.

Lightning crashed in the distance, and a tide of black clouds swallowed the stars behind the ship. The Captain paced the deck. Half his men were starving and threatening mutiny. The other half were spilling their guts over the side, or fouling up the hold below.

The sickness was spreading. The storm was closing in. And Death waited on all sides, laughing in the shadows.

"Then skip the prayer, hold your piss, and dump everything," he yelled back, gripping the hilt of his dagger.

"Sir," the Steward said, holding his swollen stomach, and doing his best to stay standing as the boat lurched. "Are you sure you want to–?"

"Dump it all," said the Captain, inching the blade from its silver scabbard. "The cannons. The bags. The liquor. The food that's turned. Even the rats, if you can catch 'em. Anything that could slow us down."

The Steward winced and gagged as the deck dipped, and clutched at the arm of the Captain's salt-stained coat. "But the haul, sir? What we almost died for? What of the thing that's cursed us since we left?"

The Captain looked to the cabin door. A bearded priest stood in the shadows, shivering in his ashen robes. The holy man moved to block the door with darting eyes and a considerable girth.

"There's more to fear than curses, boy," the Captain hissed, slapping the young man's hand away. "Touch that box, and you'll know. All of you. Go!"

"Yes, sir," the Steward said, stumbling off towards the bow. "You heard the Captain – dump it all!"

The Captain turned and gripped the back rail. He watched the lightning dance and slice through the heavens. He saw the darkness creep towards him, like oil spilled across the sky.

I'm in a race with the Devil, he thought. But when we're light as the whiskers on His face, we'll see who gets there first.

With fingers full of splinters, he twisted the ring of gold on his left hand. It slid easily across his taut, pale skin, leaving smears of brown and red. Dirt and blood.

It won't be for nothing, I swear. To the edge of the Earth, the end of Time, and whatever stands between. We will raise a glass again in the New World, and laugh in its face. Together. 

He looked up at the stars as the storm closed in and saw them extinguished, one-by-one, until just two remained. They glimmered and shone through gaps in the clouds like two great eyes in the darkness, burning on a demon's face that chased him across the sea.

Rest now, my love. For soon, you shall sleep no more.

With a gust of wind the eyes blinked out, shut tight in the storm. Far below, a lone man tilted back his head, and howled at the darkness.

Inspirations:

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Music

https://youtu.be/D4bmikZ75Qo