Retold by Anthony de Mello
Once upon a time a farmer had an old horse for tilling his field.
One day the horse escaped into the hills and when all the farmer’s neighbours sympathised with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied,
“Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?”
A week later the horse returned with a herd of wild horses from the hills. This time the neighbours congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was,
“Good luck? “Bad luck? Who knows?”
A little while later when the farmer’s son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought that this was very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was,
“Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?”
Some weeks later the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer’s son with his broken leg they let him off.
Now was that Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?”
Anthony “Tony” de Mello was a Jesuit priest and psychotherapist who became widely known for his books on spirituality. An internationally acclaimed spiritual guide, writer and public speaker, de Mello hosted many spiritual conferences
“Wisdom tends to grow in proportion to one’s awareness of one’s ignorance.”
Anthony de Mello
