fore an old man is often snappish, irritable, hard to please, and selfish, tolerant only of his own household, but averse to strangers, and to all who do not administer to his comfort or to his necessities.
(Fable 173 Halm; Townsend's translation.)
THE WAR-HORSE AND THE MILLER
A WAR-HORSE, feeling the infirmities of age, betook him to a mill instead of going out to battle. But when he was compelled to grind instead of serving in the wars, he bewailed his change of fortune, and called to mind his former state, saying, "Ah! Miller, I had indeed to go a-campaigning before; but I was barbed from counter to tail, and a man went along to groom me; and now, I cannot tell what ailed me to prefer the mill before the battle." "Stop," said the Miller to him, "harping on what used to be, for it is the common lot of mortals to sustain the ups and downs of fortune."
(Fable 174 b. Halm; Townsend's translation.)
THE KITES AND THE SWANS
THE Kites of old time had, equally with the Swans, the privilege of song. But having heard the neigh of the horse, they were so enchanted with the sound, that they tried to imitate it; and, in trying to neigh, they forgot how to sing.
The desire for imaginary benefits often involves the loss of present blessings.
(Fable 170 Halm; Townsend's translation.)
