This is one of my favorite fairy tales that supports the archetype of the Wise Man within us. Enjoy it!
“In a village, there lived a very poor old man. Yet even kings envied him, for he owned a magnificent white horse. Many offered him extravagant sums of money, but the old man always refused, saying:
“This horse is not just a horse to me – it is a living being. How could I sell him?”
One day, the horse disappeared into the forest. The villagers came and mocked the old man:
“You fool! We always knew the horse would run away. You could’ve sold him and been rich. Now you have nothing!”
The old man calmly replied:
“Don’t go so far. Just say the horse is missing – that’s all we know. Whether it’s a misfortune or a blessing, I cannot say. Only time will tell.”
The villagers laughed. They thought he was mad.
But two weeks later, the horse returned, bringing with him ten other equally beautiful wild horses.
Again, the villagers gathered and said:
“You were right, old man! It wasn’t a misfortune – it was a blessing!”
The old man responded:
“Don’t go so far”, the old man said. “Yes, the horse has returned, and he’s brought others. That’s a fact. But whether it’s a blessing or a misfortune, who can say? You’re only reading one word of a sentence – how can you judge the whole book?”
This time, the people kept quiet, but in their hearts, they thought the old man was wrong. Eleven horses – how could that be anything but a gift?
A week later, the old man’s only son began training the new horses. He fell and broke both legs.
Now, the villagers returned again:
“You were right, old man. It was a misfortune after all.”
“You are obsessed with conclusions,” the old man said. “Just say my son broke his legs. That is the fact. Whether it is a blessing or a misfortune – who knows? Life comes to us in fragments. We are not given to see the whole picture.”
A few weeks later, war broke out, and all the young men in the village were conscripted. Only the old man’s son was spared, because of his injury. The villagers wept – most knew their sons would never return. Once again, they came to the old man.
“You were right,” they said. “This time, it really was a blessing. Your son may be the only one who survives.”
And the old man quietly said:
“You continue to judge. But all we truly know is that my son stayed home. Whether that is a blessing or a misfortune – only the Absolute knows.”
