Good luck? Bad luck?

A poor and elderly farmer lived with his son and they only had one horse to till his fields. A few days before harvest the horse ran away. Neighbors came to visit him and mourned the loss at such an inopportune time. But he replied: “Good luck? Bad luck? Only the Eternal knows it ”.

A few days later the horse appeared accompanied by three wild mares. Neighbors came to congratulate him for suddenly being so lucky. His reply was: “Good luck? Bad luck? Only the Eternal knows it ”.

That same afternoon his son began to tame one of the mares, but he was thrown into the air and, when he fell, he broke his leg. Again the neighbors went to console the farmer for the misfortune that his son could not help him in the harvest. The old man just said: “Good luck? Bad luck? Only the Eternal knows”.

The next day it was learned that the lord of those lands had decided to go to war and that all the young men were to present themselves as soldiers. The son of the house, for having a broken leg, was exempted.

(Chinese and Sufi tale)