MODERN FABLES

MODERN FABLES: Character Lessons and Life Skills for Success

Why do we emphasize character?
Benjamin Franklin understood that character is essential to civic life: "Nothing is more important for the public wealth than to form and train youth in wisdom and virtue. Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom."
But what is character?
Abraham Lincoln offered a memorable distinction: "Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing."
The test of that reality comes in our treatment of the powerless. Abigail van Buren wrote, "The best index to a person's character is how he treats people who can't do him any good, and how he treats people who can't fight back."
Sustaining such integrity requires what Maya Angelou identified as the foundational virtue: "Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently."

What is the role of fables?
A fable is a brief narrative designed to teach a moral lesson. Unlike other forms of storytelling, fables are explicitly instructional—each story illuminates a clear principle about how to live well. The best fables make wisdom memorable by embedding it in concrete situations we can picture and understand.
Why do stories work so well as teaching tools?
First, stories engage our emotions and imagination in ways that abstract principles cannot. Second, stories provide context. Third, stories are memorable. Fourth, and perhaps most important, stories build moral imagination.
The stories you'll read here continue this ancient tradition in a modern American setting. Most are drawn from real experiences, with names and details modified to preserve privacy, and they show the same timeless virtues Aesop taught.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TRUSTWORTHY
CHAPTER 1: APPLES
CHAPTER 2: HONESTLY!
CHAPTER 3: "LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS"
CHAPTER 4: SNITCH OR NOT?
CHAPTER 5: SOMETHING FISHY
LOYAL
CHAPTER 6: DUKE AND DUCHESS
CHAPTER 7: FRIEND IN NEED
CHAPTER 8: BECKY AND TESS
HELPFUL
CHAPTER 9: BEARLY BACK
CHAPTER 10: MOVING DAY
CHAPTER 11: RUSTY, THE WONDER DOG
CHAPTER 12: THE ALMOST KISS
CHAPTER 13: WORK IS LOVE MADE REAL
FRIENDLY
CHAPTER 14: CELL MATES
CHAPTER 15: SNOW BUSINESS
CHAPTER 16: THE ALMOST DATE
CHAPTER 17: TICKLED PINK
COURTEOUS
CHAPTER 18: "ARE YOU GONNA WEAR THAT?"
CHAPTER 19: DON'T CUT OFF YOUR NOSE
CHAPTER 20: ON TIME OR ELSE
CHAPTER 21: RECITAL
CHAPTER 22: TIMING IS ALMOST EVERYTHING
KIND
CHAPTER 23: DOING WHAT COMES NATURALLY
CHAPTER 24: SHE THROWS FREE THROWS
CHAPTER 25: TOO TALL
OBEDIENT
CHAPTER 26: EGGS-ACTLY
CHAPTER 27: FAIR PLAY
CHAPTER 28: MISTAKEN IDENTITY
CHAPTER 29: MOTORCYCLE
CHAPTER 30: TOO FAR
CHEERFUL
CHAPTER 31: PIG IN A POKE
CHAPTER 32: CLOSE BUT NOT QUITE
CHAPTER 33: EATING THE ELEPHANT
CHAPTER 34: THE BIGGER THEY ARE
THRIFTY
CHAPTER 35: FIELD DAY
CHAPTER 36: LENDING WOES
CHAPTER 37: SWIMMING POOL
CHAPTER 38: WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
BRAVE
CHAPTER 39: AMANDA'S LOVE
CHAPTER 40: DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL
CHAPTER 41: FIGHT OR FLIGHT
CHAPTER 42: SNIPE HUNT
CHAPTER 43: HOME OF THE BRAVE
CLEAN
CHAPTER 44: A STITCH IN TIME
CHAPTER 45: FIRE DRILL?
CHAPTER 46: NO SLEEP-OVERS
REVERENT
CHAPTER 47: APPLES AND ORANGES
CHAPTER 48: NEW YORK CITY TRIP
CHAPTER 49: RUNNING UP THE SCORE
CHAPTER 50: MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD
CHAPTER 51: THE HONOR FLIGHT
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