Ade's Fables

"Ade's Fables" by George Ade is a collection of humorous and satirical fables written in the early 20th century. The work includes a series of whimsical tales that critique human behavior and societal norms, using amusing characters and light-hearted storytelling to convey moral lessons. Each fable features a blend of wit and insight, making it a reflective yet entertaining read. The opening portion introduces the first fable, "The New Fable of the Private Agitator and What He Cooked Up," wherein a child named Tad dreams of grand ambitions that evolve over time, guided by Ambition. As he grows up, his aspirations shift from the simplicity of circus dreams to lofty desires for military greatness, wealth, and ultimately, social status. Each stage of his ambition is humorously depicted, illustrating how societal pressures and expectations can distort ambitious dreams into a relentless chase for success and approval. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

George Ade was an American writer, syndicated newspaper columnist, librettist, and playwright who gained national notoriety at the turn of the 20th century with his "Stories of the Streets and of the Town", a column that used street language and slang to describe daily life in Chicago, and a column of his fables in slang, which were humorous stories that featured vernacular speech and the liberal use of capitalization in his characters' dialog.