The Dog in the Manger
Categories: English phrases | Fables
The Dog in the Manger is an fable attributed to Aesop, concerning a dog who ferociously kept the cattle in the farm from eating the stored grains and vegetables, even though he was unable to eat them himself, leading an ox to mutter the moral of the fable:
People often grudge others what they cannot enjoy themselves.
The phrase has become proverbial, referring to people who prevent others from having something that they themselves have no use for. A typical example is the child who discards a toy - until a sibling tries to play with it. Then the first child becomes possessive about something they no longer wanted.
In Spanish, the story is called El Perro del Hortelano, or The Vegetable Gardener's Dog.
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