Fantastic Fables is a collection of short stories by the American writer, satirist and author of The Devils Dictionary, Ambrose Bierce. Such numerous fables and anecdotes represent a combination of realism, acerbic social criticism and sarcasm with some Gothic elements. Bierces works are often compared to those of La Fontaine and he is often nicknamed Bitter Bierce or the American Swift. His style is highly poetic due to the extensive employment of metaphors and other figures of speech such as the personification of animals and concepts. Fantastic Fables also represents a mine of entertaining, far-fetched quips which vent rage on the social hypocrisy of politicians, manipulative religious men and dishonest physicians and businessmen. Bierces anecdotes in short stories like The Poets Doom, The Honorable Member, The Moral Principle and the Material Interest and The Witchs Steed are just a bittersweet blend of anger and contempt on the one hand with rather naughty and funny representations on the other. They depict Bierces different corrupt and crooked characters as they sneak, cheat and steal while trying to maintain a respectable social image.