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·囫囵吞枣》

客有曰：“梨益齿而损脾，枣益脾而损齿。”

一呆子方思久之曰：“我食梨则嚼而不咽，不能伤我之脾；我食枣则吞而不嚼，不能伤我之齿。”

——《湛渊静语》

Swallowing a Date Whole

A fool once heard someone say that pears were good for the teeth but harmful to the spleen, and that dates were good for the spleen but harmful to the teeth. After pondering the matter a considerable while, he said:

"From now on, when I eat a pear, I will only chew and not swallow it. And when I eat a date, I will swallow it whole."

Zhan Yuan Jing Yu

（杨宪益、戴乃迭 译）

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