Is it Good Luck or is it Bad Luck? | A Fable

The Way of the Peaceful Warrior, by Dan Millman
This short fable from The Way of the Peaceful Warrior, by Dan Millman, really makes me think. Can the things that happen to us really be considered good or bad? You decide...

An old man and his son worked a small farm, with only one horse to pull the plow.

One day, the horse ran away.

“How terrible,” sympathized the neighbors. “What bad luck.”

“Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?” answered the old man.  

A week later, the horse returned form the mountains, leading five wild mares into the barn.

“What wonderful luck!” said the neighbors. 

“Who knows whether it is bad luck or good luck,” the farmer replied. 

The next day, the son, trying to tame one of the horses, fell and broke his leg. 

“How terrible. What bad luck!” 

“Bad luck? Good luck?” 

The army came to all the farms to take the young men for war. The farmer’s son was of no use to them, so he was spared. 

“Good? Bad?”