Chapter 197
Adorned with his fine trappings, a stallion, who was on his way to war, came thundering along the road and aroused the envy of a poor ass, who was trudging along the same route with a heavy load on his back.
“Get out of my way,” cried the proud horse, “or I’ll trample you under my feet!”
The ass said nothing but quietly moved to one side to let the horse pass. Not long after this incident, he met the same horse on the same road but in different circumstances. The stallion had been wounded in battle, and his master killed. He himself was now lame, half blind, and obliged to carry a heavy load by a new master, who drove him along with brutal blows of a whip.
The path of contempt is not without its pitfalls.
