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Aesop's Fables · Chapter

The Soldier and His Horse explained

A soldier treats his horse well during war, feeding it oats and caring for it, but neglects and starves it during peacetime.

What happens

A soldier treats his horse well during war, feeding it oats and caring for it, but neglects and starves it during peacetime. When war returns, the horse is too weak to carry him, reminding the soldier that neglect cannot be undone instantly.

Themes in this chapter

  • Perseverance and Effort

    The horse's endurance during war contrasts with its collapse under neglect, emphasizing the limits of perseverance without proper care.

  • Justice and Consequence

    The soldier faces the natural consequence of his neglect when the horse fails him in battle.

Characters to notice

  • The Horse

    The horse is initially well-fed and cared for during war, but later neglected and fed only chaff, leading to its weakness.

  • The Ass

    The horse compares itself to an ass after being overworked and underfed, highlighting its degraded condition.

Key passages

  • “You will have to go into battle on foot this time. Thanks to hard work and bad food, you have turned me from a Horse into an ass; and you cannot in a moment turn me back again into a Horse.”

    You'll have to walk into battle now. Because of overwork and poor feeding, you've made me as weak as a donkey, and you can't instantly restore my strength.

    The horse's final speech delivers the moral, illustrating the irreversible effects of neglect.

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