Summary
Once upon a time, there was an old man and his son living in a border village. The chestnut horse that the old man owned was intelligent and strong, and the villagers envied him for it.
One day, when the old man went to the stable, news spread throughout the village: "The horse has escaped!" The villagers worriedly said, "That's unfortunate. To think that horse is gone."
The old man calmly replied, "No need to worry. Something good will surely come of this."
A few days later, the old man heard the sound of the horse neighing from the forest. When he went to check, to his amazement, he found the horse among a group of wild horses! "What a sight, there are eleven of them!" exclaimed the surprised villagers.
The villagers said, "You are so lucky! Now you are the wealthiest man in the village."
However, the old man responded in a cool tone, "This doesn’t mean I will be happy. Perhaps something bad may happen."
The son wanted to ride one of the wild horses, and he finally managed to mount one. "How is it, how is it!" he exclaimed as he urged the horse on with a whip, but the horse went wild, and the son was thrown off. "Ouch!" he screamed, having broken a bone.
The villagers said, "You have had a terrible experience; we feel sorry for your son." But the old man calmly said, "I am not worried about my son. Something good may come of this."
A few weeks later, a war broke out with a neighboring country, and all the young men in the village were conscripted to fight. However, only the old man's son was spared, being told, "You may go home." "No, I will not be used as a servant."
The battle was fierce, and many young men lost their lives. The villagers remarked, "What a lucky old man! Your son will surely recover from his injuries."
In this way, the old man remained calm at all times and taught that fortunes change, as the saying goes, "Life is like a horse from a border; it can go either way."
