# The Charger and the Miller explained — Aesop's Fables > Chapter companion for Aesop's Fables by Aesop. ## What happens A warhorse, now old and working in a mill, laments his lost glory and the hardships of his current life. The Miller rebukes him, advising that fortune's changes must be accepted as they come. ## Themes in this chapter ### Pride and Folly The horse's pride in its former glory leads to folly in regretting the past instead of adapting to the present. ### Perseverance and Effort The Miller's advice emphasizes enduring life's ups and downs with perseverance rather than futile regret. ### Human Nature and Vice The horse's lamentation illustrates the human tendency to dwell on past happiness and resist change. ## Character check-ins ### The Horse The aging warhorse who now works in a mill, regretting his past life of battle and glory. ### The Miller The mill owner who employs the horse and delivers a sharp lesson about accepting fortune's changes. ## Key lines > Ah me! I was once a splendid warhorse, gaily caparisoned, and attended by a groom whose sole duty was to see to my wants. How different is my present condition! I wish I had never given up the battlefield for the mill. The horse mourns its former life of honor and luxury, contrasting it with its current drudgery, and expresses regret for leaving the battlefield. _This lament captures the central conflict of the fable: nostalgia for past glory versus present hardship._ > It’s no use your regretting the past. Fortune has many ups and downs: you must just take them as they come. The Miller dismisses the horse's regret, advising that fortune is fickle and one must accept its changes without complaint. _The Miller's reply delivers the moral of the story, urging acceptance of life's inevitable changes._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/fables_se/chapters/the-charger-and-the-miller - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/fables_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/fables_se/chapters