One day a dog stole a piece of meat in a cook-house on the river bank and fled, carrying his booty. Having covered a long distance he came to a bridge, which he decided to cross.
In the middle he stopped to rest and lay down to look at the water. He saw in it a dog resembling himself with a morsel of meat in his mouth which seemed to him larger than his own.
“This morsel would satisfy my hunger better still!”
He immediately opened his mouth, abandoning his booty and plunged from the top of the bridge into the river.
Looking everywhere he could no longer see either the dog or the meat.
Carried by the current he had to struggle to regain the bank, realizing too late that he had taken his reflection for another dog holding a piece of meat in his mouth. The real meat he had well and truly lost.
It happened in the times when beasts could talk.
A peasant was working in his field. Blows rained onto the buffalo’s back, which continued without stopping.
Sitting on a little dyke, the tiger, witness to the scene, asked:
‘Oh buffalo, you are much stronger than the man, why do you allow yourself to be thus ill-treated by him?’
‘Man is small, but his intelligence is great,’ replied the animal.
Perplexed, the tiger asked himself: “What is intelligence? And where does it hide?”
Not holding back any more he challenged the peasant:
“Man, where is your intelligence? Can’t you show it to me?”
And the peasant replied:
‘I left it at home.’
’Can’t you go and look for it?’
’Certainly, but during that time you could eat my buffalo. I agree to go there but allow me to tie you up to feel more at ease.’
Too curious, the tiger agreed. As soon as our wild animal was tied up, the laborer struck him blows with a stick, which he would never forget:
’That is my intelligence, Seel’
