A fable is a succinct story , in prose or verse , that features animals , plants , inanimate objects , or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized -LRB- given human qualities -RRB- , and that illustrates a moral lesson -LRB- a `` moral '' -RRB- , which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim .

A fable is a type of short story which teaches a lesson or has a moral , which is usually stated at the end .
