system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Fables] Why is hiding the existence of fables so important?

It's mentioned several times that hiding from Mundies is the most important law of fabletown. It's taken as granted that even the most rebellious and depraved Fables won't break it. Every earth-based fable community- European, Arabic and Japanese, as well as assorted scattered fables- all agree that it's of vital importance, above all other considerations, to hide from mundy society at any cost. They imprison non-human fables, an act that causes significant trouble for them throughout the series.

But *why*?

With few exceptions, fables look like either attractive humans or adorable fairytale creatures, and there's maybe a few thousand of them at most, with mostly limited magic barring a few one-off superitems. They're not scary, they're too rare and elusive (with various pocket dimensions and suchlike) to exploit and they're more then able to defend themselves if needs be.

Hell, at the end, they *are* revealed...and it's fine. It's all fine. Nothing happens. Everyone's cool with it, from what we can tell.

So what's the big deal? What were they so scared of that they'd go to such lengths rather then just explaining the situation and going back into their magic apartment block to live the rest of their lives without hiding from everyone?
gpt
Because they're refugees from a war in their home world from forces that will capture, torture or kill them. That's why.

Part of the conflict in the comics is that the Fables living in our world are being drawn back into the war against their wishes, with Cinderella even killing a Fable that worked for the conqueror of their world in self-defense. If humans found out that Fables were real and they lived among them, then the people the Fables are actually trying to run from will find out, figure out their location and come down on them hard.