Fables and reality and cynisism

Telling stories is all about the fine balance between reality and fiction. You need to tell a story in such a way you take the reader out of their reality and at the same time make them believe your created reality - your unreal reality. It's a balancing act. If things are too unbelievable your reader will be thrown out of the story, on the other hand if your story is too real what is there left to tell. The following takes on fables throw a large enough dose of reality to completely douse the story.