Bless or Bane

Among those people who lived near the border, there was a man called Sai Weng. He had a lot of horses; one day, one of the horses was lost. Heard the news, his neighbors all came to comfort him. But he said; “Couldn't it be a good thing?”

A few days latter, his horse returned horse and brought another house home.

His neighbors were quite admired him for his prediction and all came to congratulate him on that. But Sai Weng was worried: “Couldn't it be a bad thing?”

Sai Weng’s only son was fond of riding horse; he went riding with the new horse everyday.    

One day, he was so carried out of himself that he fell from the horse and broke his leg. The neighbors all came to comfort him, but Sai Weng said: “A leg for a life, couldn’t it be a good thing?”

Before long, the northern tribes started a big invasion of the border regions，the youth took up arms and fought against the invaders, around the border nine out of ten men died. Sai Weng’s son escaped military service and lived with his father safe and sound.

The title of the story now uses as an idiom; it tells that gains and lost are not decided by man, fortune and misfortune sometime are convertible. Good deed and bad thing all are not absolute, under certain condition, the bad thing can draw forth good result, and the good deed also may possibly draw forth bad result

A wise saying by Lao Zi goes: Bad fortune is what good fortune leans on. Good fortune is what bad fortune hides in.