The publisher Martin Gerlach, in an effort to revive the Renaissance, Baroque, and Rococo art syles, commissioned paintings for a collection entitled "Allegories and Emblems".  These paintings were produced in two installments over three years.  A third collection, entitled "Allegory: New Series" was commissioned and produced ten years later.
 
   "Fable" was part of the first two installments.  The style reeks of Hans Makart, a historicist painter of that era -- one very influential to Klimt.  Despite the overwhelming style of Makart, Klimt also suffuses this particular work with his own flavor : some ironic lesson.  The detail of the animals is remarkable that they seem so real -- even in the way the lion is resting and the stork is gobbling down the frog.  The human female, however, seems stiff -- as if she were posing for this picture.  This has something to do with the title of the painting.  A fable is a story that teaches a lesson wherein the characters are animals.  However, in this painting, it is the young nude which represents "Fable".  Klimt, here, is trying to tell us that in a world where animals are real, it is the human figure that is the fable... the unreal character.