Anecdote
An anecdote is a short tale told about someone who is not present (often because they are already dead) which illustrates one of their character traits, often in a humorous manner. As a rule, anecdotes are considered too trivial or apocryphal to be included in a biography.
Usually an anecdote is based on real life, an incident involving actual persons or places. However, over time modification in reuse may convert a particular anecdote into a fictional piece. Sometimes humorous, anecdotes are not jokes, because their primary purpose is not to evoke laughter. An anecdote is in the tradition of both the parable and fable, but is distinct from them in several ways. It need not be a metaphor, but only an illustrative incident. It may or may not have a moral, a necessity in both parable and fable. It is unlikely to use animal characters as the fable usually does.
The word anecdote ("unpublished") comes from Procopius of Caesarea, the biographer of Justinian I, who produced a work entitled Ανεκδοτα (variously translated as Unpublished Memoirs or Secret History), which primarily is a collection of short incidents from the private life of the Byzantine court. Gradually, the term anecdote came to be applied to any short tale utilized to emphasize or illustrate whatever point the author wished to make.