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·奉承》
鲁有迂滑二叟，踞石而谈。
迂叟曰：“余有百金，以十之二予若，若趋承予否？”
滑叟曰：“物不均，不得趋承！”
“然则平分之？”
曰：“物之均，不得趋承！”
“然则全予乎？”
曰：“物全归，不用趋承。”
——《艾子外语》
Will you Flatter me?
A rich man and a poor man were talking together.
“I have a hundred ounces of gold,” said the rich man. “If I give you twenty, will you flatter me?”
“It would not be fairly shared, would you flatter me then?”
“We would be equal. I would not flatter you.”
“And if I give you all the gold, how then?”
“If I had all the gold, I would have no deed to flatter you.”
Ai Zi Wai Yu
（杨宪益、戴乃迭 译）