As we have seen in the Introduction, the three main Formalist concepts for structural analysis are fable, plot and narrative structure. In certain types of fiction, for example, detective and mystery stories the contrasts between fable (the actual events) and the plot, or syuzhet (the way the reader learns of the events) may be highly important to the structure and effectiveness of the work. Here there is no such disjunction. The fable is deceptively simple: from a mere retelling of events we learn little of what 'really' happened. It seems to be, quite simply as follows: a (presumably) newly-arrived officer is roughly treated, firstly by his divisional commander and then by his new 'comrades'. He wanders off disconsolately, decides he wants to eat, attacks an old woman, kills a goose, and now is accepted by those who had treated him so brutally before. Clearly we must look...