Most of the works written by Frank for children are fairy tales.
The writer often used in them plots taken from the folk art of different countries of the world. Franko was especially interested in fairy tales in their moral orientation, ideological content, consonance with the problems and issues that society was living at that time.
The plots used by Frank acquired a deeply relevant meaning, were marked by a bright national color, and acquired a distinct educational focus.
Franko attached special importance to the fairy tale genre in the upbringing of a child. In the latest collection "Fable about a fable", he talks about how allegorical images and pictures should be understood, and explains that a fairy tale is interesting not because it contains fiction, fantasy, untruth, but because "under the shell of that untruth" it "covers, of course, a great truth." Fairy-tale Donkeys, Rams, Wolves and Hares cause laughter, because in their actions human relationships, habits and mistakes are guessed: "Talking as if about animals", the fairy tale "winks at people with one eyebrow." "A fable about a fable", in his opinion, was supposed to help the child reader in perceiving the content of fairy tales in the context of social and personal life. Ivan Franko believed that at first it is advisable to introduce children to human relationships precisely through fairy-tale forms, because the bare truth of life can be painful for them.
