This fable is from the Hitopadesa, a Sanskrit work of moral tales by a little known pandit named Narayana from the 12 century C.E.

At one time, a Brahmin bought a small goat and carried it with him for the purpose of performing a ritual, an act to propitiate a deity. A group of scoundrels seeing him carried a goat, wanted to get it for nothing. They made a plot, and agreed to make claims that the goat was a dog. They waited at the assigned places along the route they knew that the Brahmin would take. The person waiting at the first point said to the Brahmin on the latter’s arrival, “Hello, Great Teacher! Why are you carrying a dog on your shoulders?” The Brahmin ejaculated with anger, “Who the devil are you? The animal on my shoulders is not a dog, but a goat. I have bought it for a ritual sacrifice. Can’t you see that it is a goat? How could it be a dog?” So saying, he proceeded on his journey.

After walking for some distance, the Brahmin reached a place at the fringes of a jungle. There, a group appeared and one of them said “What a wonderful teacher! Since you belong to the high caste of Brahmins, it’s really surprising that you are carrying a dog on your shoulders.” The rest of the group joined in and agreed: “Yes. We are at a loss to know why he is carrying a dog on his shoulders.” Then, the Brahmin’s mind began to waver. He thought: “Just then a person had told me that the animal I carried is a dog. Could it be a dog? I had better take a close look at it.” Thinking thus, he put down the goat and looked at it. He felt the goat’s ears and said to himself, “Hmm! This is not a dog, but a goat after all.” So saying he continued on his journey.

Then again when he reached the other side of the forested area, another group appeared and made fun of the Brahmin, clapping their hands, saying: “Hey, Look! Look! This is amazing. In spite of being a high caste Brahmin, he is carrying a base creature — a mean dog. How extraordinary!” Then the Brahmin thought to himself; “It seems to be true. The first person said that the animal on my shoulders is a dog. The second group also stated that it is a dog. This group also remarked that it is a dog. The beast I am carrying does not seem to be a goat after all. It appears to be a dog.” He then set the animal free, uttering: “Off you go, you big dog.”
After he had abandoned the goat and left, the animal was killed by the villains who cooked the flesh and made a feast of it.

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The moral of the tale is: form your own opinions after wise and careful consideration. Do not be unduly influenced by what others say. In the Kesamutti Sutta to the Kālāmas, widely known as the Kālāma Sutta, it says:

Mā anussavena: Do not believe something just because it has been passed along and retold for many generations.

In every country, and every culture or religion, there are many traditional beliefs that may, in fact, be quite wrong or at the least very misleading. Many Buddhists place great faith in amulets and rituals, which have nothing to do with the Buddha's teaching. Such superstitious Buddhists should be treated as outcastes, that is, their company should be shunned, and their opinions should be ignored.