245 satiric fables by one of America's sharpest cynics. Unabridged 1899 first edition- Fantastic Fables was a collection of 245 'particular' fables, first published in 1899. Bierce didn't miss a thing-greedy politicians, thieving doctors, not so pious holy men, aldermen, poets, naturalists, poodles, lions, kangaroos, judges, diplomats, legislators-all fall under close scrutiny in a delicious blend of sarcasm and satire that leaves no institution or pomposity of modern life unscathed. Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) was a famed journalist and essayist of the late 19th century. He was also one of America's sharpest cynics. His legacy was entombed in The Devil's Dictionary: a satirical lexicon originally published in 1906.