Section 9
The Dog and the Shadow explained simply
Aesop's Fables by Aesop
Original excerpt
Excerpt preview
A Dog was crossing a plank bridge over a stream with a piece of meat in his mouth, when he happened to see his own reflection in the water. He thought it was another dog with a piece of meat twice as big; so he let go his own, and flew at the other dog to get the...
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Public-domain original
A Dog was crossing a plank bridge over a stream with a piece of meat
in his mouth, when he happened to see his own reflection in the water.
He thought it was another dog with a piece of meat twice as big; so
he let go his own, and flew at the other dog to get the larger piece.
But, of course, all that happened was that he got neither; for one was
only a shadow, and the other was carried away by the current.
Public-domain original text shown for study context.
What happens here
A dog carrying meat sees its reflection, grabs at the imagined larger piece, and loses what it already had.
Why this scene matters
This fable matters because it warns against losing real value while chasing an illusion.
Characters in this scene
- The Dog: The animal whose greed makes him lose his meat.
- The shadow: The reflection mistaken for a better prize.
Simple story version
A dog sees his reflection and thinks another dog has more meat. He snaps at it and drops his own piece.