The Dog and Its Reflection

1867 translation by George Fyler Townsend.

The Dog and the Bone is a fable ascribed to Aesop. According to the story, a dog was carrying a bone over a bridge. Looking down into the water, the dog saw its own reflection, which looked to him like another dog carrying another bone. Wanting the other dog's bone as well as his own, the dog opened his mouth to bark at the "other" dog it saw, but in doing so, the dog dropped his own bone into the river, where it was gone for good.

The sad, hungry dog learned the hard lesson that, by being greedy, one risks what one already has.

In Popular Culture

In the UK version of the sitcom The Office, David Brent, prompted by the mention of "bones" and morals, tries to bring up this tale during a training day wherin he derails the meeting and manages to annoy the learning coordinator who comments the fable is completely irrelevant.