Arguing that teacher education has become rule bound, even in the use of teaching narratives and cases, and for the need to challenge beginning teachers' conceptions of teaching and learning, the author suggests parables as promising means for enlivening teacher education and for stretching understanding. After defining parable, the author presents an analysis of three examples--"The Storm," "The Sower," and "The Fish and the Turtle"--to illustrate some of the rich interpretative possibilities they offer for thinking critically and imaginatively about teaching and learning and for generating fresh educational metaphors useful for guiding thought and action.