Collected Tales

<p><em>Collected Tales: Fables and Parables in Search of a Moral</em> contains 230-plus contemporary satirical fables parables revisions of myths and passing observations on the present state of <em>homo sapiens</em>. 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.</p><p><br></p><p>Among the tales in the present book:</p><ul><li>Aesop runs afoul of the good citizens of Delphi</li><li>a barnacle weighs the moral pros and cons of letting go</li><li>a bear attracts quite a following in faith-based wrestling</li><li>two troops of lowland buffoons square off on a patch of ground where the halls of Congress now stand</li><li>a booby and a loon host a talk-radio show</li><li>a chicken and an egg nearly come to blows over which of them should go first</li><li>the Chimera has a difficult time filling out the compatibility profile for an online matchmaking service</li><li>an ophthalmologist has some good news and some bad news for a dragonfly</li><li>a free spirit stubs its toe</li><li>a fruit fly becomes obsessed with genealogy</li><li>a gazelle finds itself in a state of suspended animation</li><li>a gene falls victim to identity theft</li><li>a hawk has trouble maintaining eye contact</li><li>the Hydra notices that its many heads are growing smaller and disappearing</li><li>Icarus goes for a swim</li><li>a film crew sets out to document the march of the pundits</li><li>reports come in that a misanthrope has been spotted on the outskirts of town</li><li>a molehill comes to worry that it might not reach its full potential</li><li>a mosquito lands a job waiting tables</li><li>a nightcrawler is tracked down by the thought police</li><li>an old goat nearly overdoses on ED pills</li><li>the great god Pan roles over and declares I ain't dead yet folks</li><li>Pavlov's dogs nearly die of acute dehydration</li><li>the phoenix considers having itself embalmed</li><li>a poodle takes up ballroom dancing</li><li>a porcupine goes in for body piercing in a big way</li><li>a possum comes to realize how difficult it is to appear dim</li><li>Prometheus investigates the merits of canned heat</li><li>a robot takes its pet human for a walk in the park as usual</li><li>a rhinoceros notices it has a bruise</li><li>a rubber chicken begins to fret that it lacks gravitas</li><li>a sardine feels kind of lonesome</li><li>a satyr sets himself up as a life coach</li><li>a scorpion experiences a moment of compassion</li><li>a selfie fails to recognize itself</li><li>the Seven Deadly Sins form a support group to buck up their faltering spirits</li><li>a shark suffers from bleeding gums</li><li>a sheep rents a wolf suit</li><li>Sisyphus is arrested as a public nuisance</li><li>Spirit and Flesh are directed to undergo relationship counseling</li><li>a swan considers becoming an ugly duckling</li><li>a termite applies for a highly regarded grant to carry on with its work</li><li>topiary animals take the shears to themselves</li><li>a unicorn loses its horn trying to make a career change</li><li>vampire bats come out of their caves by the millions to discharge their civic duty</li><li>a vulture learns to feel good about itself</li><li>a wacko falls off the ceiling and right into the soup at a political banquet</li><li>a weak ego signs up for the trial offer of a popular home gym</li><li>a pack of wolves wins a Department of Defense contract in the billions to howl at the moon</li><li>a xenophobe turns up in the nation's blood supply</li><li>a zebra finds itself in a herd of black horses and white horses</li><li>a zeitgeist has to admit being perplexed about what it was supposed to be</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Collected Tales includes material contained in Maneater Meditations.</p>