“Things need not have happened to be true. Tales and dreams are the shadow-truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes, and forgot.”
— Neil Gaiman
Simplified Meaning:
The quote means that stories and dreams can hold deep truths, even if they never actually happened. These tales and dreams capture important lessons and emotions that last much longer than simple facts. For example, Aesop's Fables, like the story of the tortoise and the hare, aren't real events but they teach us valuable lessons about patience and hard work. Even though the specific events in the fable didn't happen, the truth behind the lesson stays relevant for many generations. People can use these lasting lessons to understand life better and make meaningful choices, even when the actual details fade away. Remembering the moral of a story or the feeling from a dream can inspire and guide us much more than cold, hard facts, which can be easily forgotten.
