Aesop's Fables, translated by Laura Gibbs (2002)
417. THE HORSE AND THE MILLER
Perry 549 (Aphthonius
13)
A story about a horse, exhorting us to consider the human condition.
A horse was suffering from old age, so instead of serving in battle he
was sent to the mill to turn the stones. Condemned to this daily grind
and denied the glory of battle, the horse wept over his present way of
life, remembering his past career. 'Woe is me!' the horse exclaimed. 'Listen,
miller: when I was destined for the battlefield, I was decorated all over
with armour and I had a man to serve me as my groom. As things are now,
I don't know how it happened that I now have this mill to handle instead
of a battle.' The miller said to the horse, 'Can't you keep quiet? I've
had quite enough of your raving about the past: Luck can change people's
lives for better or for worse!'
 Source:
Aesop's Fables. A new translation by Laura
Gibbs.
Oxford University Press (World's Classics): Oxford, 2002.
NOTE: New
cover, with new ISBN, published in 2008; contents of book unchanged.
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