A man kept two dogs. One had been bred for hunting and would trot by its master’s side on long trips across the moors. It picked up scents, flushed out game, and was steadfast under fire. The other, with its fierce bark and suspicion of strangers, was left to guard the property.

The man gave the pair equal shares of whatever they brought back. This rankled the hunting dog and one day it decided to do something about it. “Why should you get the same portion as me?” it began. “Why not?” replied the guard dog, its mouth full of tender meat.

“Because I did all the work, running back and forth, while you lay on your belly doing nothing.” “I was guarding the property.” “Pah!” “You think I want to be stuck here instead of roaming free on the moors? Trust me, you’re the lucky one. That should be reward enough.”

“Don’t tell me what’s enough!” the hunting dog exclaimed, then it lunged at the guard dog’s bowl and swallowed its last morsel. The guard dog could not let this stand. IT pounced on the greedy hunting dog and soon got the better of it.

When the man found them, the guard dog had its teeth sunk deep into its rival’s thigh. And it would not let go, no matter what its master said. The man quickly lost patience. He seized the dog and threw it into its pen, while the other simpered meekly behind his legs.

The next time they returned from the hunt, the guard dog was not given an equal share. Indeed, it got none of the spoils at all. And never did so again. Its jellied portion came from a tin. Safe behind the fence, the hunting dog glanced complacently from its meal.

“You would have done better to let me take what I wanted than be denied it altogether,” it said.

© Richard Parkin 2021

further reading: misadventures in the land of fables #9