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Barlow 80. DE CANE ET UMBRA

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Canis quidam, tranans fluvium, vorabunda fauce vehebat carnem, splendente sole, et (ut plerumque fit) umbra carnis lucebat in aquis. Quam avide captans, quod in rictu oris erat perdiderat. Quo infortunio perculsus, huc illuc vagos circumtulit ocellos et, tandem animum recipiens, sic elatravit: “Miserae deerat cupiditati modus! Satis superque esset ni desipuissem. Iam tota spes et res in fundo perierunt.”

Translation: A certain dog was crossing a stream and carrying meat in his greedy jaws. The sun was shining and, as you would expect, the shadow of the meat reflected in the water. The dog greedily snatched at the shadow and what he had had, he lost as his mouth gaped open. Struck to the core by this misfortune, he looked around, rolling his eyes this way and that, and finally getting a hold of himself, he howled: "There was no limit my wretched greed! I would have had plenty and more, if I had not been such an idiot! Now all my hopes and goods have sunk to the bottom."

[This translation is meant as a help in understanding the story, not as a "crib" for the Latin. I have not hesitated to change the syntax to make it flow more smoothly in English, altering the verb tense consistently to narrative past tense, etc.]

Illustration: Here is an illustration from this edition, by the renowned artist Francis Barlow; click on the image for a larger view.