Purple Fables: Quartet

"If a fable is a legendary story of supernatural happenings," Mr. Swann says, "or a narration intended to enforce a useful truth, then these four are fables--which shouldn't be confused with fairy tales targeted only for children. These, then, are tales for kind and loving people of all ages."

"The Temple of Sanity" tells of an idea that became a reality and grew into an insitution, only to develop rules and leaders, cliques and critics . . .

"A Clay-Modeling Lesson" tells of the four identic...