Cautionary tale

Cautionary tale is a tale that contains warning. These are designed to keep the listeners, especially children, from dangerous activities.

The tale of failure of a company or scheme are also referred to as “cautionary tales" to suggest that people should take note of the series of events which led to the failure so that they can avoid making the same mistake.

The concept of the cautionary tale is probably quite ancient. Many old cautionary tales have been passed down in the folklore of various regions, and people continue to invent new cautionary tales for children to adapt to their changing societies.

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