A parable is a didactic story in prose or in verse which illustrates one or more moral lessons or principles. Parables are used for spreading spiritual or philosophic concepts. They were used by religious or spiritual teachers.
‘Three Questions’ by Leo Tolstoy is cast in the form of a parable. It is concerned with a Tsar who wants to find suitable answers to three specific questions which he thinks are the most important questions to succeed in life. He believes that he would never fail in his enterprises if he knows the solution to three questions. The answers to the questions have moral overtones. Decisions are taken not on precepts but on the basis of experiences. The other moral teaching in the short story is to show care for others. This is the basis of our human existence and we should be guided by that principle. Such spiritual and moral teachings have made the short story a parable.
