fable

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
fable /ˈfeɪb(ə)l/

▶noun a short story, typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral.

■ a myth or legend.

■ mythological fiction.

▶verb archaic invent (an incident or story).

– derivatives
fabler noun.

– origin ME: from OFr. fable, from L. fabula ‘story’, from fari ‘speak’.