A soldier gave his horse a plentiful supply of oats during wartime and tended to him with utmost care. He wanted the horse to be strong enough to endure the hardships of battle and swift enough to carry him away from danger when needed. However, when the war ended, the soldier put the horse to all sorts of drudgery, paid little attention to him, and fed him nothing but chaff.
When war broke out again, the soldier saddled and bridled his horse, donned his heavy coat of mail, and mounted to ride off to battle. But the poor, half-starved beast sank under his weight and said to his rider, "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 into a horse."