Allegory, moralizing, Swiftian satire, an attempt to answer the eternal question of who - God or man himself - is responsible for the evil caused to the world, the inclusion of the supernatural in everyday life - all this is fully present in Powys's short stories. "Parables" is considered the most famous collection of his short stories. The heroes - among whom, in addition to humans, are animals and even inanimate objects - conduct moralizing and not devoid of humor conversations about faith, the nature of sin, man, sometimes coming to conclusions that are completely disappointing for the latter. Nineteen stories in the collection - nineteen little morality tales - teach a lesson in the caustic, ironic humanism: it turns out that you can learn from the smallest creature of God where humanity is taught not by a person, but by an ordinary flea. Translation and introductory article by Valery Votrin