Aesop’s Fables: Greedy Dog Doesn’t Let Hungry Cattle Get Near Manger—Learns a Lesson

Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock, Public Domain

A Dog asleep in a manger filled with hay, was awakened by the Cattle, which came in tired and hungry from working in the field.

But the Dog would not let them get near the manger, and snarled and snapped as if it were filled with the best of meat and bones, all for himself.

"The Dog in the Manger," illustrated by Milo Winter, from “The Aesop for Children,” 1919. PD-US

The Cattle looked at the Dog in disgust.

“How selfish he is!” said one. “He cannot eat the hay and yet he will not let us eat it who are so hungry for it!”

Now the farmer came in. When he saw how the Dog was acting, he seized a stick and drove him out of the stable with many a blow for his selfish behavior.

Do not grudge others what you cannot enjoy yourself.

This fable is reproduced from “The Aesop for Children” (1919).

Aesop (c. 620–564 B.C.) was a Greek storyteller credited with a number of fables now collectively known as “Aesop’s Fables.” His tales, with their moral value, have long influenced our culture and civilization, contributing not only to the education and moral character building of children, but also, with their universal appeal, to the self-reflection of adults alike who have chosen to embrace the virtues or heed the warnings within.

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