Ambrose Bierce 
Cobwebs from an Empty Skull 

The moral stories are at their best told by Ambrose Bierce in his book Cobwebs from an Empty Skull. The book is divided into three sections: "Fables of Zambri, the Parsee, " an assortment of over 100 fables; "Brief Seasons of Intellectual Dissipation, " discussions between a fool and a philosopher, a doctor and a soldier, respectively; and "Divers Tales, " 28 different stories of an eclectic nature, including The Grateful Bear, Dr. Deadwood, I Presume, Mrs. Dennison’s Head, and Jim Beckwourth’s Pond. (Goodreads)