The Dog and His Reflection
- 2 minute read
- Ages 4-8
- Aesop's Fables
A dog was crossing the town when he found a good bone lying at the edge of the butcher's yard.
He took it in his mouth at once and set off for a quiet place to eat it. He was very pleased with himself. It was a big bone, with meat still on it, and it was entirely his.
The bridge
His way home went over a narrow wooden bridge across a stream.
Halfway across, he happened to look down.
And there, in the still water below, another dog was looking straight up at him. A dog exactly his size. With a bone in its mouth.
And that dog's bone, from up here, looked bigger.
Two bones
The dog stopped on the bridge and stared down.
Why should that dog have the bigger bone? He wanted it. He wanted both.
He growled, low in his throat, to frighten the other dog into dropping it.
The dog in the water growled back at exactly the same moment.
So he opened his mouth to bark properly.
His own bone fell out, hit the water with a splash, and sank.
The dog in the stream broke into a hundred pieces and disappeared, and when the water settled there was no dog and no second bone and no first bone either.
He stood on the bridge a long time, looking down.
Then he walked home the way he had come, with nothing.
Moral of the story
Reaching for more can cost you what you already have. Be careful of wanting something just because it looks bigger from where you stand.
Questions and answers
- Where did the dog find the bone?
He found it lying at the edge of the butcher's yard as he crossed the town.
- What did the dog see in the water?
He saw his own reflection, which he mistook for another dog carrying a bone.
- Why did the other dog's bone look bigger?
It was only his own bone reflected in the water. The angle and the ripples made it appear larger.
- What happened when the dog barked?
He had to open his mouth to bark, so his bone fell out, dropped into the stream and sank.
- What did the dog end up with?
Nothing at all. He lost the good bone he already had by trying to take one that did not exist.
Word meanings
- reflection
- The image of something seen in water, a mirror or glass.
- butcher
- A person who cuts and sells meat.
- growled
- Made a low angry sound in the throat.
- ripples
- Small waves on the surface of water.
Questions about The Dog and His Reflection
What is the moral of The Dog and His Reflection?
The moral is that greed makes you lose what you have. The dog gave up a real bone to grab an imaginary one.
Is this the same as the greedy dog story?
Yes. It is commonly called 'the greedy dog story' in Indian and Pakistani school readers.
Why did the dog not recognise himself?
Dogs do not usually recognise their own reflections. In the fable this is used to show how easily we misjudge what we are looking at.
What is a simple way to explain this fable to a young child?
He already had something good, but he wanted more, and by grabbing for more he lost everything.