Last Saturday, estilo directo and estilo indirecto were discussed in my Spanish class. The lesson is like hearing a gossip or two and relaying the meatiest parts to a fellow gossip. It involved a lot of “he said” and “she said”. Aside from what we did in class, our professor gave us an assignment due this Saturday, April 8, 2017. It is called, El Perro y su Reflejo, Adaptación de la Fábula de Esopo (The Dog and its Reflection, Adaptation of Aesop’s Fable).

Here is my English translation of El Perro y su Reflejo, Adaptación de la Fábula de Esopo (The Dog and its Reflection, Adaptation of Aesop’s Fable). I took the liberty of changing some parts and shortening some of the run-on sentences.

 

The Dog and its Reflection

Adaptation of Aesop’s Fable

Once upon a time there was a farmer who lived in peace because he was lucky that his animals gave him everything he needed to get by and be happy.

He caressed his hens with affection, and they reciprocated by providing him with eggs every day. His beloved sheep gave him wool, and from his two beautiful cows, which he took special care of, he obtained the best milk in the county.

He was a lonely man, and his best companion was a faithful dog who not only guarded the house, but was also an expert hunter. The animal was good to its owner, but it had a small flaw: it was too haughty and proud. It always boasted that it was a great sniffer and that no one caught preys like it did. Convinced of this, it often told the rest of the farm animals:

“The dogs of our neighbors are incapable of hunting anything, they are useless. On the other hand, every week, I give my master some pigeons or some mice that I can catch. No one is better than I in the art of hunting!”

It was evident that the dog thought of itself highly and had the habit of trumpeting its skills to anybody who would listen.

One day, as usual, it went out for a walk. It walked far from the enclosure and entertained itself by sniffing some of the molehills it found along the way, hoping to get a new trophy to take home. The day did not look promising. It was hot, and the animals slept in their burrows without showing any sign of activity.

“What a boring morning! I think I’ll go home to rest on the carpet because today not even the butterflies are out.”

Suddenly, a dove brushed past the dog’s head. The dog, who had an enviable eye and was agile like no other, jumped and, without giving the dove time to react, caught it in the air. Clutching the dove tightly between its fangs and feeling like a real champion, the dog took the road back to the farm wading across the river.

Summer was very close and the ice in the mountains had started to melt. The dog noticed that the flow of the river was stronger than normal, and that the water was coming down with more force than ever. Surprised, it sighed and said to itself,

“I love the sound of water! And how much foam is formed when it hits the rocks! I’ll go over to the shore to try to see a little.”

The dog had always been afraid of water, so it was the first time it had come so close to the edge of the river. When it looked into the water, it saw its own enlarged reflection and thought that it was really another dog that had a prey greater than its own.

How was it possible if it was the best hunter in the whole area! Its pride had been so wounded that it unwittingly let go of the dove in its jaws and threw itself into the water to snatch the booty from its supposed competitor.

“Give me that piece! Give it to me, you rascal!”

Unsurprisingly, all he got was an icy bath. There was neither dog nor prey, but only its reflection. When the dog realized it, it felt very ridiculous. Shivering with cold, it barely managed to get out of the river, and it watched in amazement how the dove it had let go was shaking its feathers, was flying, and disappeared into the treetops.

Dripping wet, with its tail between its legs and with a dark scowl on its face, the dog returned home with nothing but its vanity in tatters.

Moral of the story: If you have achieved something thanks to your effort, be satisfied and do not try to have what others have. Be happy with what is yours because if you are greedy, you can lose it forever.

El Perro y su Reflejo

Adaptación de la fábula de Esopo