Lost Horse, Chinese Fable

This ancient Chinese fable, or animal tale, tells the story of a good man who lived in a remote village and was respected by all his neighbors. The man was a farmer and was raised in a family where love and good manners were especially cherished.

The man and the wisdom of the man were respected so much in the community that all the inhabitants of the village sought out his words, asking him for advice in many different situations. The farmer always had to offer kind words and comforting sentences to all the villagers. He lived in harmony with himself and the whole world.

One day, completely unexpectedly, a gorgeous horse arrived to replace the man. The animal had shiny white hair and stunning strong muscles. It moved with unique elegance and the animal clearly saw that it was a purebred horse. The horse began to graze and then stayed to replace the good man who also became the protagonist of this Chinese fable.

Good and bad luck

This ancient Chinese fable tells how the other inhabitants of the village were surprised by the new mysterious animal. According to the laws of the village, since the magnificent horse had arrived and remained on the farm of its own free will, it belonged to the farmer. Everyone was shocking at how good luck the farmer had kicked, but this protagonist of the fable used to respond to the villager’s words, “ perhaps, ” and added afterwards, “ what seems like a blessing can sometimes be a curse. “

The other villagers did not understand the man’s words and they came to the conclusion that the farmer was an ungrateful man. How could he not believe that there was a blessing, how could no one-owned and even magnificent purebred horse have just ended up in his place? And that horse certainly paid for the property. After all, there could have been no better luck.

Then came winter. One morning the farmer got up very early and saw that the stable door was on the smithy’s back. The man approached the stable and noticed that the magnificent horse was no longer in the stable; either the horse had escaped or someone had stolen it. The unfortunate news began to spread like wildfire around the village.

Soon the neighbors also arrived on the farm and they wanted to express their apologies to the humble man. “ We are sorry for what happened, ” they repeated. From it, the protagonist of this Chinese fable remained completely calm and told his neighbors that they had nothing to worry about. And finally, he added, ” What looks like a curse can sometimes be a blessing .” The villagers thought the man had gone crazy.

The return of a purebred horse

Winter progressed slowly that year. Eventually, however, the trees began to fill with leaves and the birds began to sing again, as always happened after a long winter. Spring had arrived. One afternoon a farmer was working on his farm when suddenly he felt the earth shake.

This humble man looked up and was able to distinguish the white and shiny hair of the horse figure lost on the horizon. However, this marvelous animal did not come alone. The horse was followed by 20 more horses, all of whom obediently followed the magnificent white horse. The farmer was surprised. All of these horses looked stunning as they headed for their leader toward the farmer’s farm.

All 20 horses, along with their leader, remained on the farm and, as permitted by village law, the horses now all belonged to the farmer. The man’s neighbors couldn’t believe how luck had followed this farmer so vigorously. They congratulated the man on this new property. As before, the humble man replied to the villagers in the same way, “ What seems like a blessing can sometimes be a curse. “

The beautiful ending of the Chinese fable

The farmer saw that he was facing hard work. All these wonderful and sophisticated horses that were in his place were wild and difficult to train. It would therefore be necessary to train them one at a time. In addition to the farmer, only his eldest son was able to train horses, so there was a process ahead that would take a long time.

Autumn had already come, when the farmer’s son had just begun training the most delicate horse. Although this young man was quite a learned horse trainer, this wild individual threw the young man off his back and the boy broke one of his legs in an accident. Neighbors rushed to the scene to offer the young man medication and ask what they could help him with the situation. “ What bad luck you have had! “, They hocked at the farmer. As usual, the man replied, ” What looks like a curse can sometimes be a blessing .”

Only a week later a war broke out in the country, and the emperor sent his troops to the scene to recruit all the youth of the village. The only one who survived the war was the farmer’s son, as he was still recovering from an accident in which he fell off the horse’s back and broke his leg. Only then did the other villagers understand what the great wisdom of the farmer meant. Since then, this Chinese fable has become familiar to many families from generation to generation, so that no one will forget that happiness that looks good or bad is not always what it looks like.