makumaro.net is the rented space of HC Mak, built on There is this Chinese folktale I like telling. Heh, what I’m telling is probably a variation of the original story, but by the end of it all, you should probably get the gist of it. Can’t recall whether I first read this story in primary school or high school, but it’s most likely the latter.
There was once a well-to-do family who lived in China. One day, while out in the plains, the servants of the family found a couple of wild horses roaming around the countryside, and rounded them home. The grandfather and the rest of the family was very delighted by the find. The father, however, had reservations, saying that this find may be an ill omen.
Years later, the son had grown up into a young man. He frequently went riding on one of the horses that was found so many years ago. One day, while riding, he had an accident where he fell of the horse and broke his leg. The whole family was shocked at the calamity that had happened and the most unfortunate thing was that the young man became crippled from the injury. The father again, had reservations, saying that this may be a blessing in disguise.
A few years later, the state went to war with the neighbouring lands. All the men were conscripted by the king to go fight for their homeland. By then, the father was an old man, and avoided the duties to the state. The young man, because of his disability, was exempt from conscription. War is never a good thing, for there is a high probability that you will never get the chance to return home. So from this chain of events, the family was able to remain together.
The moral of the story (for me anyway) is that bad things may happen, but they may bring a greater good in the end. It reminds me to look on the brighter side of things when everything else seems to go against you and gets you down. At least it gives us a sense of hope of things, even if we can’t see them clearly among all the bad things that go wrong. Some advice to live by I hope.
