Aesop narrates the fable of a dog who, while crossing a bridge with a piece of meat in his mouth, sees his reflection in the water and mistakenly believes it to be another dog with a bigger piece of meat. Greedy for more, he barks at the reflection, dropping his own piece of meat into the water. Aesop’s son questions the dog’s foolishness, leading to a humorous discussion about greed and the consequences of losing what you already have in pursuit of something that isn’t real. The fable teaches a valuable lesson about contentment and the pitfalls of envy.
