“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo da Vinci. Adopted by Steve Jobs.
An envious Dog acquired a nice piece of meat from the Butcher and carried it home for a feast.
On his way home, he passed by a clear pond and looked down. Seeing his reflection in the water, he thought it was another dog with a larger piece of meat.
Filled with envy for even more, the Dog snapped at his reflection to take the other dog’s meat.
But, as he opened his mouth, his own meat dropped into the water and was forever lost.
Moral of the Story: In the attempt for more, we risk what we have.
Introduction – The Essential Aesop – Epilogue
Why We Loved It: Aesop uses his Dog for this fable, understanding that we know from our own experience that dogs are always doggedly begging for more and more. And, here, the Dog’s nature self-defeats.
In The Frog and the Ox, we also observe the comeuppance of envy, but that fable focuses upon foolish self-defeat by impossibility of goal. [1] Alas, the Frog could never become the equal of the magnificent Ox and destroyed himself trying.
In The Boy and the Filberts, we have a corollary failure of satisfaction, such as here, but a contrary rule of wisely letting go of some of it in order to to keep any of it. [2]
In this fable, Aesop gives away the characteristic of the Dog, right up front: “An envious Dog.” Such as in the titular The Miser and His Gold [3], when Aesop starts by qualifying his character by a vice, we know its not going to end well. We behold that the vice portends the fool.
So there’s something new: in The Frog and the Ox, there was envy with impossibility of achievement, and in The Boy and the Filberts, there was no envy, but rather greed, perhaps a subset of envy in certain contexts.
For this case, it is the worst misery ever induced by Mankind; to wit: Envy as causation for wanting more of a prize while already possessing a worthy prize. We perceive that envy is a form of failure of discipline, a type of personal injustice, by natural inclinations that are not tempered to wise conduct or state of being. [4, 5]
But, to be more clear, indeed Aesop understands that there is much goodness from the rational motivation to achieve more and greater things, and he does not intend his fable to be misinterpreted, which is why he immediately tells us that the Dog has a flawed foolish weakness by inclination of the vice of envy. He’s telling us that the causation is not virtue, but vice.
Thusly, the key to this fable is not so much in the wanting more, but in the wanting more that risks or sacrifices foolishly something valuable. This is Aesop’s sort of “something’s got to give” fable. Perhaps the example of, “I want that BMW like my neighbor, so I will take that pay raise, that takes me out of town, which means I won’t be around to raise my children.”
Of course, every goal has a cost, and requires a balancing, but that’s not the point here. Aesop warns us to appreciate what we already possess and to be careful to perceive what we will risk to lose for what we might stand to gain.
“Be careful,” says Aesop, “Check yourself and your motivation for taking a risk. Do you understand what you have, what you stand to gain, what you stand to lose, and why are you motivated to act.” Says Aesop, “Is it worth it?” [6, 7]
There’s always a glittering brass ring to tempt us, but it is not about what we will get, it is about we risk giving. All that glitters is not gold. [8, 9]
[1] The Distinguished Napoleon – The Business of Aesop™ No. 2 – The Frog and the Ox [GRZ81] [LinkedIn #GRZ_81]
[2] Satisfaction, Appreciation and Greed – No. 9. The Boy and the Filberts – The Essential Aesop™ – Back to Basics Abridgment Series [GRZ98_9] [LinkedIn #GRZ_98_9]
[3] Attachment, Greed. Or, Just Let It Go. – No. 79. The Miser and His Gold – The Essential Aesop™ – Back to Basics Abridgment Series [GRZ98_79] [LinkedIn #GRZ_98_79]
[4] The Two “Master Virtues” – The Executive Summary [GRZ209] [LinkedIn #GRZ_209]
[5] Hope, Prayer, Trust and Reliance Upon Luck; Or, the Ignoble Handouts Oft by Noble Emotions [GRZ137] [LinkedIn #GRZ_137]
[6] Epilogue: On the Wisdom of Aesop [GRZ24] [LinkedIn #GRZ_24]
[7] Is It Worth It? – No. 72. The Tortoise and the Birds – The Essential Aesop™- Back to Basics Abridgment Series [GRZ98_72] [LinkedIn #GRZ_98_72]
[8] Is It Worth It? – No. 72. The Tortoise and the Birds – The Essential Aesop™- Back to Basics Abridgment Series [GRZ98_72] [LinkedIn #GRZ_98_72]
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Here is a deep-dive analysis of Gregg Zegarelli’s fable No. 52, “The Dog and His Reflection,” from The Essential Aesop – Back to Basics Abridgment Series.
🧠 Core Insight & Interpretation
“In the attempt for more, we risk what we have.”
Zegarelli begins this fable by revealing the dog’s flaw: envy. This framing sets the entire moral tone—what follows is not an innocent mistake or a noble aspiration but the collapse of reason caused by a vice. The dog is not reaching toward something better; he’s being blinded by envy, misjudging reality, and losing something real for something illusory.
The reflection motif—grasping at a mirage—becomes a powerful metaphor for self-deception, where greed mutates into self-sabotage. It’s not that wanting more is inherently bad; it’s the irrational, uncalculated sacrifice of something valuable in pursuit of something imagined or exaggerated.
In economic and moral terms, it is a loss of net value due to the corrupting force of envy.
🧭 Ethos Compliance: Zegarelli’s Philosophical Framework
This fable is a robust expression of several themes that pervade Zegarelli’s ethos:
1. Vice as Causation
- The dog is not neutral or noble—it begins from envy, which corrupts otherwise rational conduct.
- Compare this to Zegarelli’s “Two Master Virtues” [GRZ209]: Wisdom and Discipline. The dog lacks both.
2. The Discipline to Appreciate
- Zegarelli underscores the injustice of undervaluing what one already possesses.
- This aligns with his teachings on personal injustice: when one fails to measure their blessings rightly, they commit harm not just against others—but against themselves.
3. Predictive Wisdom
- A key pedagogical device across Zegarelli’s fables: wisdom is about predicting outcomes.
- The dog does not consider the probability that biting a reflection results in no gain. A wise master would.
4. Integration Across Fables
This fable is part of a broader web:
- Frog and the Ox (No. 2): envy becomes self-destruction by impossibility.
- The Boy and the Filberts (No. 9): greed without balance results in loss.
- The Miser and His Gold (No. 79): attachment to wealth that cannot be used is a vice unto self.
Envy, greed, pride, and attachment form a quartet of self-negating vices. Here, envy transforms into irrational risk.
📚 Pedagogy: The Risk/Reward Moral Calibration
Zegarelli’s pedagogy in this fable follows a recognizable progression:
- Anthropomorphized Setup
The dog is instantly qualified: “an envious Dog.” As with “The Miser,” the moral flaw is stated from the beginning—no suspense. The lesson is in consequence, not revelation. - Predictable Self-Sabotage
A simple scene: real meat lost for imaginary meat. A clean cost/benefit failure. The fable becomes a case study in failed decision-making. - Societal Analogy & Real-World Translation
Zegarelli likens the dog’s foolish act to: “I want that BMW like my neighbor, so I will take that pay raise, that takes me out of town, which means I won’t be around to raise my children.” In doing so, he elevates the lesson from abstract to concrete: envy makes us miscalculate, misprioritize, and trade real virtue for hollow vanity. - Final Check: Motivation Audit
The fable ends with Zegarelli’s diagnostic question: “Is it worth it?” The fable is not anti-ambition—it’s anti-unwise ambition. It calls for rational audit of risks and motives.
🔚 Conclusion: Don’t Trade Substance for Illusion
“All that glitters is not gold.”
The dog’s mistake is not just about greed—it is the failure to ask whether what is desired is real, necessary, or worth the cost. The message is one of moral risk management: assess the actual value of what you have, the probable gain of what you seek, and the nature of your impulse.
This fable, through its simplicity, teaches a foundational doctrine in Zegarelli’s ethos:
Vice causes the mismeasure of value. Wisdom correctly values possession. Discipline governs desire.
The glittering brass ring of envy is always nearby—but if you reach for it blindly, you may let slip your own feast.
20250423.4o
© 2013 Arnold Zegarelli and Gregg Zegarelli, Esq.
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