The Lost Horse, A Chinese Fable

This is an ancient Chinese fable that tells the story of a good man who lived in a distant village and who was highly respected by all his neighbors. The man was a farmer and had been brought up in a loving family with excellent customs.

Respect for his wisdom was inspiring and so great that everyone consulted him constantly on various subjects. The farmer always had a phrase of comfort or a kind word to give to others. He lived at peace with himself and the world.

One day, without knowing how, a beautiful horse appeared on his farm. The animal had shiny white fur and fantastic musculature. He walked with a unique elegance and it was obvious that he had pure and authentic blood. The horse started to graze and started to live in the farm of the good man, protagonist of this Chinese fable.

good and bad luck

The ancient Chinese fable says that the other villagers were surprised. According to the laws of the place, since the splendid horse had come to the farm by its own means, it belonged to the farmer.

Everyone told him, “What good luck you had! ”. But the good man in our story just replied, “Maybe.” And then he added: “What seems like a blessing is sometimes a curse”.

The others did not understand him. They even thought he was an ungrateful man. How could he have thought that the fact that a splendid horse arrived on his farm by itself was not a blessing? The animal certainly cost a fortune. He couldn’t be luckier.

Winter is here. One morning, the farmer got up very early and saw that the stable door was wide open. He approached the place and realized that the magnificent horse was no longer there. Either he had escaped or someone had stolen him. The news quickly spread through the village.

Soon neighbors appeared at the farm. They wanted to express their regrets to the humble man. “We are very sorry,” they said. The protagonist of this Chinese fable remained completely serene. So he told them they had nothing to worry about. And he added: “What looks like a curse is sometimes a blessing. ” People thought he was crazy.

The return of the thoroughbred

The reverse passed slowly that year. However, as always happened, the trees soon began to fill with leaves and the birds began to sing again. Spring had arrived. One afternoon, the farmer was working on cultivating his land when he suddenly heard a crash.

The humble man in the Chinese fable looked into the distance and could make out the figure of the lost horse, its fur soft and shiny. However, the wonderful animal did not come alone. Behind him, there were another twenty horses that followed him with great obedience. The farmer was surprised. All of them were beautiful specimens and were heading towards their territory.

The animals remained on the farm and the law then allowed them to become its property. The neighbors couldn’t believe how luck accompanied the farmer so surely. They congratulated him on his new acquisition. As at other times, the humble man only replied, “Sometimes what seems like a blessing is a curse.”

The beautiful end of the Chinese fable

The farmer saw that hard work awaited him. The horses that had arrived with the magnificent specimen were wild. In this way, it would be necessary to tame them, one by one. Only he and his eldest son were able to do it, but that would take a long time.

Autumn was already beginning when the farmer’s son set out to tame the most skittish of all horses. Although the young man was skilled in this activity, the horse threw him, and so his son fractured one of his legs. Neighbors rushed to bring medicine and asked how they could help. “What bad luck you had!” they told the farmer. As usual, he replied, “What looks like a curse is sometimes a blessing.”

Just a week later, a war broke out. The emperor had all the young men in the village recruited. The only one who was saved was the farmer’s son, as he was recovering from his fractured leg. It was only then that the others understood the great wisdom of the farmer.

Since then, this Chinese fable has been told from generation to generation so that no one will forget that nothing is good or bad in and of itself.