a short parable story

Not exactly. A parable is a specific type of story with a moral or religious lesson, while a short story can cover a wide range of themes and purposes.

A parable short story typically has a concise structure. It gets to the point quickly without a lot of unnecessary details. The characters in it are often archetypes, representing certain qualities. For instance, in 'The Fox and the Grapes', the fox represents envy and the grapes represent something desirable. Also, these stories are highly symbolic. The events and elements in the story stand for something else, which is how the moral is conveyed.

One common theme is moral lessons. For example, in the parable of the eagle among the chickens, it's about not being limited by your surroundings. Another theme can be self - discovery. Just like the frog that thought others were encouraging it and managed to jump out of the pit. Also, change and growth are themes, such as the boy with the nails learning to control his temper over time.

Once there was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the fence. On the first day, the boy drove 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails he hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally, the day came when he didn't lose his temper at all. His father told him to pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The boy did so. When all the nails were removed, his father said, 'Look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like these holes.'

A short parable story usually has a simple plot, a clear moral lesson, and characters that are easy to relate to.

The moral could be about simplicity and purpose. Just like a pencil has a simple form yet serves important purposes like writing or drawing.

There are the injured man, the priest, the Levite, and the good Samaritan.

It's possible that there are also other inanimate objects or elements in the story that act as characters in a sense. For example, the paper that the pencil writes on could be considered a secondary character as it is part of the overall interaction related to the pencil's function. Without the paper, the pencil's act of writing would be incomplete. So in the 'parable of the pencil short story', the pencil, the user, and the associated objects like paper might all play roles as characters.

The main message is about showing kindness and mercy to others, regardless of differences. The Samaritan in the story helped a stranger in need when others passed by, teaching us to be good neighbors.

The main characters are the father and the two sons. The prodigal son is one of the key characters as the story focuses on his actions of leaving, his time away, and his return. The other son also plays an important role as he shows a different reaction to his brother's return. And of course, the father is central as he is the one who shows great love and forgiveness towards his sons.