The Foolish, Greedy Dog

A dog, having stolen a good piece of meat from a butcher's stall, trotted proudly across a wooden bridge over a clear stream, eager to enjoy his prize in peace on the other side.

Halfway across, he glanced down and saw his own reflection in the still water below — but mistook it entirely for a second dog, carrying what looked like an even larger piece of meat than his own. Greed overtook him instantly, and rather than be satisfied with the fine meal already in his mouth, he opened his jaws wide to snap at the "other dog's" meat and claim both pieces for himself.

The moment his mouth opened, his own piece of meat fell from his jaws and sank into the stream below, lost entirely — and the "other dog," of course, vanished the instant the water's surface rippled, having never existed at all. The dog crossed the rest of the bridge with nothing at all, having traded a real, certain meal for the greedy illusion of a bigger one.