There’s a Dish Network commercial running on the radio around here (I don’t know if it’s national or not) in which the announcer says something to the effect of the following (another parenthetical remark: I didn’t transcribe the ad so the following may not be word for word), “The following is a parable; you know, a story with made up characters that has a point.” He then goes on to tell of the jungle animals who are fed up with cable and buy a mini-dish.
Hey, fuck-up-idiot-moron-illiterate-stupid-ignorant-dumb-ass-dictionaryless ad person: if it’s not an allegory and it does star animals, it’s a fucking fable. Aesop. Remember? He was on “Bullwinkle.” A parable is something Jesus told about promiscuous sons and sand castles and all that stuff.
And we wonder why these ignorant little fucks are such ignorant little fucks.
par·a·ble (pr-bl)
n.
A simple story illustrating a moral or religious lesson.
parable n 1: a short moral story (often with animal characters) [syn: fable, allegory, apologue] 2: (New Testament) any of the stories told by Jesus to convey his religious message; “the parable of the prodigal son”
You’re right- they screwed up. I suggest you drop 'em an e-mail. Ask them what religous lesson you were supposed to learn from the woodsy animals getting the Dish Network
The entire definition from Webster’s 2nd, Unabridged:
parable: 1. A short, simple story from which a moral lesson may be drawn: it is usually an allegory. (Usage example from Matthew deleted)
2. An obscure or enigmatic saying. [Archaic].
fable: 1. A fictitious narrative intended to teach some moral truth or precept, in which animals and sometimes inanimate objects are represented as speakers and actors.
Now, reread the OP and tell me which word is more suitable. Jesus didn’t tell the story of the Prodigal Fox and the Sour Grapes that I remember. And go buy a real dictionary rather than a student version.
