A charger, feeling the infirmities of age, was sent to work in a mill instead of going out to battle. When compelled to grind grain rather than serve in war, he lamented his change of fortune and recalled his former glory.
"Ah, Miller," he said, "I once went to battle, fully armored from head to tail, with a groom to tend to me. Now I cannot understand why I ever preferred the mill to the battlefield."
"Forbear," replied the Miller, "from harping on the past. It is the common fate of all to endure the ups and downs of fortune."