Nothing that can be written about Lincoln can show his character in such a true light as the yarns and stories he was so fond of telling, and at which he would laugh as heartily as anyone. For a man whose life was so full of great responsibilities, Lincoln had many hours of laughter when the humorous, fun-loving side of his great nature asserted itself.
While nearly all of Lincoln's stories have a humorous side, they also contain a moral, which every good story should have. They contain lessons that could be taught so well in no other way. Every one of them is a sermon. Lincoln, like the Man of Galilee, spoke to the people in parables.
The parables, yarns, stories, anecdotes and sayings of the "Immortal Abe" deserve a place beside Aesop's Fables, Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress and all other books that have added to the happiness and wisdom of mankind. Lincoln's stories are like Lincoln himself. The more we know of them the better we like them.