The Dog Who Lost His Prey for a Shadow (translated by Michael Star)

People fool ourselves in this world;
Chasing after shadows
So numerous are they that often,
We cannot count the number.

Let us look at the dog of which Aesop speaks.

This dog, seeing his prey reflected in the water,
Dropped it for its image and nearly drowned himself.
The river became roiled up
And the dog barely made it back to the banks,
Having lost both the reflection and his prey.