DgtizeD

I recently remembered my fondness for a set of short stories written by James Thurber. Some might even describe them as parables. Most traditional parables, such as Aesop’s Fables, seem inclined to suggest a behavior. Thurber’s parables tend towards sarcastic commentary on human nature.

Besides his parables, Thurber was a writer and cartoonist for the New Yorker. I would also suggest some of his longer short stories such as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which tells the tale of a henpecked husband who daydreams himself into a variety of more entertaining situations then the errands he is actually performing, as well as Thurber’s children’s story The Thirteen Clocks.

Apparently for a variety of reasons many of the more interesting short stories have been transcribed on the internet, and I decided to copy a few of them and place them here so others might enjoy them.

• The Owl Who Was God
• The Rabbits Who Caused All the Trouble
• The Bear Who Let It Alone
• The Moth and the Star
• The Very Proper Gander
• The Unicorn in the Garden
• The Shrike and the Chipmunks

I believe these were all originally printed in James Thurber, Fables for Our Time and Famous Poems Illustrated (New York, 1940).

Enjoy.