Shah's Fables in the Sufi WayWhen most people answer the question "What is a fable?" » They generally define it as a story with talking animals that teaches readers a lesson or moral. Although most fables fall into this category, Idries Shah, author of many fables, believes that a fable is more than just an interesting story that teaches a lesson. In fact, Shah writes in the “Before” section of his book Reflections: “Do you imagine that fables exist only to amuse or instruct, and that they are based on fiction? The best of them are descriptions of what is happening in real life, in the community. , and in the mental processes of the individual” (1, 2). What Shah means is that the best fables describe life, the mental processes of an individual and the surrounding community to the fullest. In “The Man, the Serpent, and the Stone,” from his book Caravan of Dreams, Shaw provides insight into how human mental processes occur and how they should be. The fable appears to be the story of a curious, but ignorant, man who desperately tries to justify his action of freeing the snake from under the stone so that the snake will not kill him. However, this fable shows the reader how selfish, inconsiderate, and unreasonable humans are towards their animal “friends.” One thing this fable demonstrates to the reader is how selfish humans are in their ways. The fable begins with the man picking up a stone and releasing a poisonous snake. The snake, of course, threatens to kill the man, but the man pleads for his life because he claims to have freed the snake. The man shouts, "Give me one more chance. Please, let's find someone else to give their opinion, so that my life can be spared" (904). The man does not care how the snake was inconvenienced. All he cares about is trying to stop the snake from killing him. Another problem addressed by this fable is man's unconsciousness towards the animals of this planet. The fable gives two examples of animals being treated unfairly. The first example tells of a flock of sheep that provided wool for humans for many years. Now, after all these years of helping humans, humans turn around and return the favor by killing sheep for sheep's sake. A sheep adds sarcastically: "This is the measure of the generosity of men" (904).