A dog, with a piece of meat in his mouth, was hurrying home to eat his supper in quiet. On his way he had to pass over a narrow plank which lay across a small stream.

As he looked down into the water he saw his own image in the smooth surface of the brook. This, he thought, was another dog with a larger piece of meat in his mouth.

He put his head down near the water. Behold, the meat, which the other dog carried, was plainly within his reach.

"Now, I shall have a fine dinner," he thought. And with a quick snap of his jaws, he tried to snatch the meat from the dog in the water.

But as he opened his mouth, his own piece of meat fell to the bottom of the brook. And thus, by greed, he lost all that he had.