Quite so. I suggest that one of the things we forget is that up until a few hundred years ago teaching was done by the oral tradition and stories were used as vehicles for knowledge. Homily and allegory were employed to get the point across whether it be religious or cautionary tales. This is why the work of the Grimm Brothers in the context of European social history is important and highlights examples of a line of centuries of folkic oral transmission

The problem with calling them parables instead of actual events is that makes the Bible secular. I don't have a problem with using parts of it for moral input but kind of eliminates it as a piece of any religion.