Krilof and His Fables/The Dog
The Dog.
A Gentleman had a dog that was given to thieving. And yet there was nothing it stood in need of. Any other dog in such a kind of life would have been happy and contented, and would never have dreamt of stealing. But this one had such a mania for it that whenever it got hold of a piece of meat it instantly bolted with it.
In spite of all the pains his master gave himself, he could not get on with it, until at last a friend interfered and helped him with this piece of advice:
"Listen," he said. "Athough you are severe, it seems, yet you only accustom your dog to steal, inasmuch as you always let him keep his stolen morsel. But suppose you beat him less in future, only take away from him what he has stolen."
Scarcely had the dog experienced the effect of this wise counsel when—the dog gave up stealing.
[This fable, like that of "The Bear among the Bees," refers to the corruption which used to be so prevalent in Russian official circles. In the dog of the one story and the bear of the other, individual functionaries of evil repute were in all probability represented, but their real names are unknown.]