The Horse and the Ass

Summary

This story highlights themes of humility and the unpredictability of fortune through the interactions between a proud Horse and a humble Ass. The Horse, adorned with splendid harnesses, looks down on the slower and burdened Ass, threatening with disdain. However, fate takes a turn when the once-proud Horse falls out of favor due to health issues and is relegated to arduous farm work. Observing this, the Ass sees an opportunity to remind the Horse of its earlier arrogance, pointing out that the tables have turned as the Horse now toils with the same hardship it previously mocked. The narrative serves as a cautionary tale about the perils of vanity and the value of treating others with respect, regardless of one's current status.

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A Horse, proud of his fine trappings, met an Ass on the highway. The Ass, being heavily laden, moved slowly out of the way. “Hardly,” said the Horse, “can I resist kicking you with my heels.” The Ass held his peace, and made only a silent appeal to the justice of the gods. Not long afterwards the Horse, having become broken-winded, was sent by his owner to the farm. The Ass, seeing him drawing a dungcart, thus derided him: “Where, O boaster, are now all thy gay trappings, thou who are thyself reduced to the condition you so lately treated with contempt?”