A DOG once had a nice piece of meat for his dinner. Some say that it
was stolen, but others, that it had been given him by a butcher, which
we hope was the case.
Dogs like best to eat at home, and he went trotting along with the meat
in his mouth, as happy as a king.
On the dog’s way there was a stream with a plank across it. As the
water was still and clear, he stopped to take a look at it. What
should he see, as he gazed into its bright depths, but a dog as big as
himself, looking up at him, and lo! the dog had meat in his mouth.
“I’ll try to get that,” said he; “then with both mine and his what a
feast I shall have!” As quick as thought he snapped at the meat, but in
doing so he had to open his mouth, and his own piece fell to the bottom
of the stream.
Then he saw that the other dog had lost his piece, too. He went sadly
home. In trying to grasp a shadow he lost his substance.