A DOG, crossing a bridge over a stream with a piece of flesh in his mouth, saw his own shadow in the water and took it for that of another Dog, with a piece of meat double his own in size. He immediately let go of his own, and fiercely attacked the other Dog to get his larger piece from him. He thus lost both: that which he grasped at in the water, because it was a shadow; and his own, because the stream swept it away.
狗叼着肉渡过一条河。他看见水中自己的倒影，还以为是另一条狗叼着一块更大的肉。 想到这里，他决定要去抢那块更大的肉。于是，他扑到水中抢那块更大的。结果，他两块肉 都没得到，水中那块本来就不存在，原有那块又被河水冲走了。
这故事适用于贪婪的人。