The Dog & the Shadow (Aesop’s Fables)

The Dog and its Reflection is one of Aesop’s fables. Although the exact origins and the historical existence of Aesop himself are debated, it is generally believed that he lived between 620 and 564 BCE in Ancient Greece. This is retelling by the disgraced fabulist Juan Artola Miranda.

Once upon a time, in a small village, there lived a dog who had found a large, juicy bone. Proud of his newfound treasure, the dog decided to take it to a safe place to enjoy it without any disturbance.

As the dog trotted along, he came across a narrow bridge over a calm stream. As he crossed the bridge, he looked down and saw what looked to be another dog, staring up at him from just underneath the water. It was his own reflection, of course, but the dog mistook it for another dog holding a large and alluring bone in its mouth.

Driven by greed and the desire to have both bones, the dog couldn’t resist the urge to steal the other dog’s bone away. He growled and snatched at the reflection.

But as soon as the dog opened his mouth to bark, the bone he had been carrying fell from his grasp and plunged into the stream below. The dog watched in despair as the bone was carried away by the current, lost forever.

On the bright side, the other dog had lost its bone as well.

Juan Artola Miranda

I am Juan Artola Miranda, a fabulist living in the Mexican Caribbean. My friends know me by the name of my father's father, but that name grew into something bigger, my writing reaching tens of millions of readers. It was too strong for me to control. Artola Miranda is the name of my mother's mother. It's a better name for a fabulist.