A Blessing in Disguise

Once upon a time there lived an old man near a border fortress in northwestern China. He was popularly known as Saiweng (meaning, old man on the border).

One day, one of his son’s horses strayed into an area north of frontier. His son become disheartened after his failure to find the animal despite many attempts. The neighbors all came to comfort him, asking him to get over the loss.

In response to his neighbors’ words, Saiweng said: “The loss of the horse is not necessarily a bad thing.” They did not pay much heed to his observation. After all he was old, they thought, And they left.

A few months later, the stray horse returned A few months later, the stray horse returned. Moreover, it brought back another stronger horse. People came to congratulate Saiweng, praising him for his foresight.

To their surprise, Saiweng was not happy about the recovery of the horse. Instead, he said coldly: “the free acquisition of a horse perhaps augurs ill.” This puzzled his neighbors once again.

He was right. His son grew very fond of the new horse and would ride it often. One day he fell from it and become cripple. The neighbors extended their sympathy to the elderly father and the son, but were surprised by the elder, who said: “A broken leg may not necessarily be a bad thing.”

One year later, other young men in the village were all drafted into military service and thus and his life was saved.

This is the story behind the famous saying “when Saiweng lost his horse, who could have known it was a blessing in disguise?”