古代寓言原是民间口头创作，文学体裁的一种。含有讽喻或明显教训意义的故事。它的结构简短。主人公可以是人，可以是动物，也可以是无生物。多借用比喻手法，使富有教训意义的主题或深刻的道理在简单的故事中体现，而还需要自己去理解，思考，这就是和西方寓言的不同之处。

《古代寓言·对考虑发命令》

杨叔贤为荆州幕时，虎伤人。杨就穴磨崖刻戒虎文，其略曰：“咄乎尔彪，出境潜游。”

后知郁林，致书知事赵定基，托拓戒虎文数本。云：“岭南俗庸犷，欲以此化之。”赵遣人打碑。次日耆申：“磨岩下大虫咬杀打碑匠二人。”赵乃以状寄答。

——《宋稗类抄》

Issuing an Order to the Tigers

When Yang Shuxian was in office in Jingzhou, the tigers there were a scourge to the people. So Yang had an edict engraved on a big rock on a nearby mountain, ordering the tigers to leave the place.

Later, when he was transferred to Yulin, he found the people there very unruly. Thinking to issue to a similar edict, ordering them to be law-abiding, he wrote to the magistrate of Jingzhou asking for some rubbings to be taken of his edict to the tigers. When the magistrate sent some men to the mountain, they were killed by tigers while trying to take the rubbings.

The magistrate had to relate the tragedy in his reply to Yang.

Notes of Xue Tao

（杨宪益、戴乃迭 译）

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