Parable: A story in which a lesson is expressed in terms of something else.  A story illustrating a lesson using analogy.  A short story that teaches a lesson.  A simple story illustrating a moral or religious lesson.

Parable comes from a combination of two Greek words.  Παρά means beside, and βάλλειν means to throw. 

My wife sometimes tells me the parable of the lawn left un-mowed.  Good story.  Not sure what she is getting at, though.