Ernest Griset (1874)

My poor puppy has a nasty hot spot. I’m picking up some prednisone and powder for him this afternoon, so it should be cleared up in a week or so. But that’s why I was thinking about dogs today and I knew Aesop has several fables featuring dogs.

A dog had stolen a piece of meat out of a butcher’s shop and was crossing a river on his way home, when he saw his own shadow reflected in the stream below. Thinking that it was another dog with another piece of meat, he resolved to make himself master of that also. But in snapping at the supposed treasure, he dropped the bit he was carrying, and so lost all.

It is not wise to be too greedy.

Can’t you just see a dog doing that? Not my dog, of course, because he’s not a big fan of water and probably wouldn’t have been crossing the stream in the first place. Of course, he also wouldn’t have been able to save the meat until he got home; he would have devoured it immediately. Some people are like that dog too though, not content with what they have and always wanting what someone else owns.

Thursday’s Tales is a weekly event here at Carol’s Notebook. Fairy tales, folktales, tall tales, even re-tellings, I love them all. Feel free to join in.