Author’s Note
Based on the fable “The Dog and the Shadow”. I decided to
elaborate on the journey home from hunting through the woods, and the obstacles
he had to face on the way home. The dog is confused by his reflection in the
water and mistakes it for another dog. The greedy creature lunges for the piece
of meat in the other dog’s mouth, only to be splashed in the face with a cold
surprise.
Bibliography. “Aesop’s Fables” by Joseph Jacobs. The Dog and the Shadow. Web Source: https://archive.org/stream/fablesaeso00aesouoft#page/28/mode/2up
There is a dog named Max. Max is loved by his owner and is
always ready to chase the next squirrel. Everyday Max runs into the woods and
helps his owner hunt. Some days it’s small animals like birds and rabbits, but
other days they hunt deer. Max loves to run as far as the eye can see and then
he runs right back to his owner. On this day, Max and his owner were hunting
for rabbits. Max ran over the log, past the brook, and sat down behind a tree
with his owner. They waited patiently and finally his owner stood up. They
heard a rustling in the bushes near by and out hopped a rabbit. Max’s owner
gave him the command and off he goes. Max is rolling on the grass and is soon
up in a flash with the rabbit hanging from his mouth. His owner runs over to
him and bends down to receive a lick from Max. They start back for the house,
passing over the brook; except this time, Max sees his reflection in the water.
He sees the rabbit hanging from what he thinks is another dog staring back at
him. He lunges towards the water and peeks his head back above water. The
rabbit is nowhere to be found, but Max’s owner pulls him out of the brook. He
gives himself a shake and he and his owner go back out and catch another
rabbit.
Picture of a dog holding a rabbit. By Sir Edwin Landseer. http://madamepickwickartblog.com/2012/03/back-to-the-salon-trititude-and-tritism/
I've never read this fable, but it really hits the nail on the head about greed. The dog, Max, can't just be happy with what he's caught for himself so he has to attack his reflection to get the squirrel in the reflection. I think this fable definitely applies today, even though it is an old fable. I like how you took your story back a little bit to see the dog's personality before getting to the main point of the story.
ReplyDeleteI really thought you did a great job of setting up the scene of the woods and the relationship dynamic between the dog and the owner. You also brought the dog to life and allowed the reader to understand his personality and the internal conflict Max was going through. Greed is something that I think our generation deals with on a daily basis, sometimes I think we all need to get splashed in the face with some water to wake up. Great Post!
ReplyDeleteI liked how you incorporated the reflection rather than the dog's shadow in your story. I thought it was a good piece to keep in and pretty creative. I can also say that I liked the way you set up your setting so that it felt that we were joining their hunt. It is important to describe how the characters are and how they innertwine throughout the story. Saying that, I think you did a great job establishing the relationship between the two. It was a well written short story. Good job!
ReplyDeleteI did this story my first week too. I am glad to left in the reflection part as I think it is central to the idea of the story. I feel like this has probably happened more than once to Max as his owner seemed pretty chill with him losing their dinner.
ReplyDelete