A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. The parable differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature as characters, whereas parables have human characters. A parable is a type of analogy. Some scholars of the canonical gospels and the New Testament apply the term "parable" only to the parables of Jesus, though that is not a common restriction of the term. Parables such as "The Prodigal Son" are central to Jesus' teaching method in the canonical narratives and the Apocrypha.