China Old Man Horse

tale:china_old_man_horse

An old man on the frontier loses his horse, and his neighbors console him; it returns leading wild horses, and they congratulate him. His son, riding one, breaks his leg — misfortune; but the injury spares the son from a war levy that kills the able-bodied. Moral: no one can say whether fortune is good or ill until all has played out. — Huainanzi