The Greedy Dog and His Reflection

Bruno was a big brown dog with floppy ears and a waggy tail. One sunny afternoon, he was trotting through the village when a wonderful smell tickled his nose. Sniff, sniff! Outside the butcher's shop lay a big, juicy bone! Bruno grabbed it in his strong jaws and trotted home happily, his tail wagging like a flag. "What a lucky dog I am!" he thought. "This is the biggest, tastiest bone in the whole world!"

The Bridge

On his way home, Bruno had to cross a little wooden bridge over a sparkling river. As he trotted across, he happened to look down into the clear water. And what did he see? Another dog down there — and that dog was holding a bone that looked even bigger and juicier than his own! Bruno stopped and stared. "Wow!" he thought. "That dog's bone is much bigger than mine! I want that one too!" His eyes grew wide with greed, and he quite forgot about the fine bone he already had.

Greedy Thoughts

Bruno's mouth watered as he stared at the bigger bone. "If I had two bones, I would be the happiest dog in the whole village," he thought. "I could eat one bone today and save the other for tomorrow. All the other dogs would be so jealous of me!" His tail stopped wagging, and his eyes grew greedy. He quite forgot how lucky he already was with the fine bone in his own mouth. "That other dog does not deserve such a big bone," Bruno grumbled to himself. "I am bigger and stronger, so the bigger bone should be mine!" He lowered his head toward the water, ready to snatch the treasure he saw below.

Snap!

Bruno growled at the dog in the water, and the other dog growled right back at him. "Give me your bone!" barked Bruno, and he opened his mouth wide to snatch the bigger bone. But the moment he opened his mouth — splash! His own bone slipped from his jaws and fell into the river. Down, down, down it sank into the deep water. Bruno stared in shock. He looked again into the river, but the other dog and the bigger bone were gone too. There was only his own sad, surprised face looking back at him. It had only been his reflection all along!

Bruno barked and barked at the water, but it was no use. His bone was gone, and the other dog was gone too. He sat on the bridge with an empty mouth and a heavy heart, feeling very foolish. Slowly, he understood his mistake. He had wanted more and more, and now he had nothing at all.

Moral of the Story

Be thankful for what you have. Wanting more and more out of greed can make you lose everything.