Long ago, there lived an old man who was famous for his wisdom and learning. He lived with his son in the middle of the grasslands of China. They made their living by farming. Their only valuable possession was a fine mare.

One evening, as the two men returned home after a hard day’s work in the field, they found the stable door broken. The mare was missing. Apparently, she had broken free and bolted.

The old man’s son was so upset by this loss that he started crying. But the old man remained unmoved.

The son then composed himself. He quickly called all the neighbors and organized a search party. They combed the entire neighborhoods. But the mare could not be found.

The search was called off and the neighbors returned to the old man’s house. They offered their condolences on his loss. “We are sorry that this misfortune has happened to you,” they said. “We know how much you loved that mare.”

But the old man calmly answered, “How do you know that the loss of my mare is a misfortune? All will be shown for its true worth in due course.”

On hearing this, the neighbors were astonished. Had the old man gone mad? How could the loss of a fine horse not be a misfortune?

The next morning, as father and the son came out of their house, they saw two horses coming towards them. The first was their lost mare. Following her was a large, powerful-looking stallion.

The two horses settled down in the stable. The men saw that the new stallion was a very valuable war-horse. Their mare had brought home a real prize! The old man’s son was delighted by this piece of good luck.

That evening, the son threw a party to celebrate the return of the mare and the arrival of the new horse. All their friends and neighbors were invited.

At the party, all the guests congratulated the old man on his good fortune in getting back his lost mare along with the fine new horse. But he only said, “How do you know that this is my good fortune? All will be shown for its true worth in due course.”

Once again, all were taken aback. Why was the old man talking so strangely, they wondered?