Old Proverb

An Chinese couple and their son worked on their small piece of field everyday trying to make a living.

One day about 30 horses came past their plot and they captured the horses. The next day the community from the town came to the family and told the old man how happy they are for his good fortune. The old man replied, “If it is a good thing or a bad thing I do not know, I will wait and see what path it takes and what it brings” 

The son then tried to break in the horses, fell and broke his hip. He was crippled by this. The next day the community from the town came to the family and told the old man how sad they are for the bad luck which fell upon his son. The old man replied, “If it is a good thing or a bad thing I do not know, I will wait and see what path it takes and what it brings”. 

A few years later war broke out. All the healthy males were gathered and sent to the frontline. The next day the community from the town came to them and told the old man how happy they are in that his son was not sent to the army. The old man replied, “If it is a good thing or a bad thing I do not know, I will wait and see what path it takes and what it brings” 

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. 

--Helen Keller