戰爭期間，騎兵和戰馬並肩作戰，戰馬在危急關頭為他效力；他也把戰馬照顧得無微不至，用幹草和玉米來喂養他。等到戰爭結束，戰馬隻能吃到一些穀殼，還要承擔非常繁重的工作，像奴隸一樣為騎兵服務。當戰鬥的號角再次吹響，騎士全副武裝，給馬戴上嚼子，手執武器騎上馬背。然而長時間營養不良的戰馬已經無力承擔他身體的重量，一次次地摔倒在地，最後隻得對主人說： “你隻能去當步兵了，因為你已經把我變成了一頭隻會幹活的驢子了，但是你卻無法在短時間內把我從驢子再變回戰馬。 ”
精心的照顧有利於實力的保存。
A Horse Soldier took the utmost pains with his charger. As loed，he looked upon him as his fellow-helper in all emergend fed him carefully with hay and . But as over，he only allowed him chaff to eat and made him carry heavy loads of wood， subjeg him to much slavish drudgery a.
roclaimed，however，arumpet summoo his standard，the Soldier put on his charger its military trappings， and mounted，being his heavy ail. The Horse fell dhtway u，o the burden，and said to his master，“You must now go to the war on foot，for you have transformed me from a Horse into an Ass；and hoect that I turn i from an Ass to a Horse?”
es ability.