Collected Tales

Collected Tales: Fables and Parables in Search of a Moral contains 230-plus contemporary satirical fables, parables, revisions of myths, and passing observations on the present state of homo sapiens. The tales focus on psychological, social, political, spiritual, aesthetic, and philosophical themes, but the 'moral' of each one is left to the reader to decide.Among the tales in the present book:Aesop runs afoul of the good citizens of Delphia barnacle weighs the moral pros and cons of letting goa bear attracts quite a following in faith-based wrestlingtwo troops of lowland buffoons square off on a patch of ground where the halls of Congress now standa booby and a loon host a talk-radio showa chicken and an egg nearly come to blows over which of them should go firstthe Chimera has a difficult time filling out the compatibility profile for an online matchmaking servicean ophthalmologist has some good news and some bad news for a dragonflya free spirit stubs its toea fruit fly becomes obsessed with genealogya gazelle finds itself in a state of suspended animationa gene falls victim to identity thefta hawk has trouble maintaining eye contactthe Hydra notices that its many heads are growing smaller and disappearingIcarus goes for a swima film crew sets out to document the march of the punditsreports come in that a misanthrope has been spotted on the outskirts of towna molehill comes to worry that it might not reach its full potentiala mosquito lands a job waiting tablesa nightcrawler is tracked down by the thought policean old goat nearly overdoses on ED pillsthe great god Pan roles over and declares, 'I ain’t dead yet, folks'Pavlov’s dogs nearly die of acute dehydrationthe phoenix considers having itself embalmeda poodle takes up ballroom dancinga porcupine goes in for body piercing in a big waya possum comes to realize how difficult it is to appear dimPrometheus investigates the merits of canned heata robot takes its pet human for a walk in the park as usuala rhinoceros notices it has a bruisea rubber chicken begins to fret that it lacks gravitasa sardine feels kind of lonesomea satyr sets himself up as a life coacha scorpion experiences a moment of compassiona selfie fails to recognize itselfthe Seven Deadly Sins form a support group to buck up their faltering spiritsa shark suffers from bleeding gumsa sheep rents a wolf suitSisyphus is arrested as a public nuisanceSpirit and Flesh are directed to undergo relationship counselinga swan considers becoming an ugly ducklinga termite applies for a highly regarded grant to carry on with its worktopiary animals take the shears to themselvesa unicorn loses its horn trying to make a career changevampire bats come out of their caves by the millions to discharge their civic dutya vulture learns to feel good about itselfa wacko falls off the ceiling and right into the soup at a political banqueta weak ego signs up for the trial offer of a popular home gyma pack of wolves wins a Department of Defense contract in the billions to howl at the moona xenophobe turns up in the nation’s blood supplya zebra finds itself in a herd of black horses and white horsesa zeitgeist has to admit being perplexed about what it was supposed to beCollected Tales includes material contained in Maneater Meditations.