The Dog and Its Reflection Facts for Kids

The story of The Dog and Its Reflection (sometimes called "The Dog and Its Shadow") is one of Aesop's Fables. It's a very old tale, numbered 133 in the Perry Index. This fable teaches us to be happy with what we have. It warns against giving up something real for something that only seems better. The story traveled from ancient Greece across Europe. There are also similar stories from India. The lessons from this fable have even become popular sayings in English and French.

What Happens in the Story?
Different Versions of the Fable
Similar Stories Around the World
Important Lessons from the Fable
How the Fable is Used Today
Images for kids
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What Happens in the Story?

Imagine a dog walking by a stream. It has a tasty piece of meat in its mouth. Suddenly, it looks down and sees its own reflection in the water. The dog thinks it's another dog with an even bigger, better piece of meat! Wanting that "other" piece, the dog opens its mouth to bark or attack. But when it does, it drops its own meat into the water. The meat sinks and is lost forever.

This story is very old. A Greek thinker named Democritus, who lived over 2,500 years ago, mentioned it. He used the fable to talk about how people often want more, even when they have enough. He said it was "like the dog in Aesop's fable."

Many Latin versions of the fable also existed. Over time, the story became part of medieval animal books called bestiaries. For example, the Aberdeen Bestiary from around 1200 says that if a dog sees its shadow in the water while carrying meat, it will open its mouth to grab the other piece and lose its own.

Different Versions of the Fable

Over hundreds of years, the basic story stayed the same, but some small details changed. In ancient Greek, the fable was often called "The dog carrying meat." The main lesson was always to be happy with what you have. Latin versions often focused on the dog being tricked by its own reflection. They added the lesson not to be fooled by how things look.

Sometimes, the fable is called "The Dog and its Shadow." This is because the Latin word umbra could mean both "reflection" and "shadow." When the fable was first translated into English by William Caxton in 1384, he chose the word "shadow." However, an earlier English writer, John Lydgate, used "reflection."

Later, in the 19th century, "shadow" became the more common word in English titles. Also, the story often changed so the dog was crossing a bridge when it saw its reflection. This made more sense, as it's hard for a dog to see its reflection clearly if it's swimming. Artists like Paul de Vos (1638) and Edwin Landseer (1822) painted the dog on a bridge. Interestingly, a French writer named Marie de France included a bridge in her version way back in the 12th century. She also said the dog was carrying cheese instead of meat!

Important Lessons from the Fable

This fable has given us many wise sayings.

One lesson is: "Who all coveteth, oft he loseth all." This means if you want everything, you often end up losing everything. It's an old proverb that reminds us about greed.

The French writer Jean de la Fontaine wrote his own version. He said the point is not to be fooled by how things look. The dog attacks its reflection and loses both the "shadow" (the reflection) and the "substance" (the real meat). A common French saying from this fable is Lâcher sa proie pour l’ombre, which means "giving up the prey for the shadow."

In English, we have a similar saying: "to sacrifice the substance for the shadow." This means giving up something real and valuable for something that isn't real or isn't worth it. Another proverb that fits the dog's mistake is "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." This means it's better to keep what you have than to risk it for something that might be better but isn't certain.

How the Fable is Used Today

The fable has been used in many ways to teach different lessons.

In the 16th century, people used "emblem books" with pictures to teach morals. The fable of the dog was used to teach people to be content with what they had. The Latin title for one illustration was Mediocribus utere partis, meaning "Make use of moderate possessions." It warned that if you are not happy with what you have and always want more, you might lose everything.

The fable has also been used to talk about money. If someone "throws good money after bad" for an uncertain gain, it's like "the story of the dog and the shadow."

Sometimes, the fable was even used in politics. People would use the story to criticize politicians who gave up a sure position for a chance at something more important, only to lose everything. It was a way to warn people to stick to what they had.

More recently, the fable has inspired art. A Korean dancer named Hong Sung-yup created a ballet called "The Dog and the Shadow" in 2013. In his ballet, the lost meat represents memories that shape who we are. In the same year, a young Australian composer named Alice Chance included the fable in her "Aesop’s Fables Suite" for music.