apologue /ˈæpəlɒɡ/ noun2 •A short story with a moral, often involving talking animals or objects; a fable.[…] but though the mythic hero may thus be made to figure in a moral apologue, an imagination so little in keeping with his unethic nature jars upon the reader's mind. — 1891 •(rhetoric) The use of fable to persuade the audience. formsapologues