Emily Dickinson Lexicon

AP'O-LOGUE, n. [ap'olog; Gr. απολογος, a long speech, a fable.]

A moral fable; a story or relation of fictitious events, intended to convey useful truths. An apologue differs from a parable in this; the parable is drawn from events which pass among mankind, and is therefore supported by probability; an apologue may be founded on supposed actions of brutes or inanimate things, and therefore does not require to be supported by probability. Esop's fables are good examples of apologues. – Encyc.