Fables for Robots


Fables for Robots is a series of humorous science fiction short stories by Polish writer Stanisław Lem, first printed in 1964.
The fables are written in the grotesque form of folk fairy tales, set in the universe populated by robots. In this universe there are robot kings, robot peasants, robot knights, robot scientists; a robot damsel in distress is pestered by a robot dragon, robot dogs have robot fleas, etc.
The Fables constitute the bulk of the collection Mortal Engines of translations by Michael Kandel. Two of them were also included into the 1981 collection The Cosmic Carnival of Stanislaw Lem.
Fables for Robots share the peculiar robot's universe, as well as the style, with the cycle The Cyberiad.

Stories

In 1965 three of the fables, "Jak ocalał świat", "Maszyna Trurla", and "Wielkie lanie" were included into the cycle The Cyberiad.
On the other hand, one of the stories from The Cyberiad, "O królewiczu Ferrycym i królewnie Krystali", stylistically belongs to the Fables cycle, but it was not in the original 1964 book.
The remaining fables are:
  • "Trzej elektrycerze"/"The Three Electroknights"
  • "Uranowe uszy"/"Uranium Ears"
  • "Jak Erg Samowzbudnik Bladawca pokonał"/"How Erg the Self-Inducting Slew a Paleface"
  • "Skarby króla Biskalara"/"Treasures of King Biskalar"
  • "Dwa potwory"/"Two Monsters"
  • "Biała śmierć"/"The White Death"
  • "Jak Mikromił i Gigacyan ucieczkę mgławic wszczęli"/"How Mikromil and Gigatian Provoked the Runaway of Nebulae"
  • "Bajka o maszynie cyfrowej, co ze smokiem walczyła" ; also included into the 1991 Polish edition of the Cyberiad
  • "Doradcy króla Hydropsa"/"The Advisers of King Hydrops"
  • "Przyjaciel Automateusza"/"Automatthew's Friend"
  • "Król Globares i mędrcy"/"King Globares and the Sages"
  • "Bajka o królu Murdasie"/"The Tale of King Murdas"
Additionally the 1993 collection Pożytek ze smoka contained the short story "Zagadka", written in 1980, a discussion of Father Cynkan, M.D. and Father Chlorjan about the apocryphal possibility of non-ferrous life and how such beings could reproduce, without any design documentation.
In 1975 an animated film Maszyna Trurla was released based on Lem's story.