Once a farmer and his son lived on a small plot of land, owned by the landlord.  They were very poor, but eked out a living hand plowing the land themselves.  They did not even have a cow or oxen to plow the land.  One day the son came home very excited.  "Father, father, come quickly!" the young man said, dragging his father out of the small hut.  "I have found a horse!"  The father was amazed.  His son had found a horse!  Only wealthy people owned horses!  This could improve their circumstances significantly.  With a horse, they could plow their land, and double or even triple their production.  The farmer already felt wealthy. How God had blessed them!  They now had a horse.

 

A few weeks later, the son went out riding on the horse.  He fell off and broke his leg.  Moreover, during the accident, the horse was injured, and wouldn't be good for plowing until after the planting season.  Now the farmer was in a real fix.  His son couldn't help him plant, because he was injured.  The horse couldn't help him by plowing, because it was injured.  But they both still needed to eat!  The father cursed the day the horse had entered their lives.  It had made life so much more difficult. 

 

It so happened that shortly thereafter the King's army came to their small village.  Every young man was conscripted into the army.  The Kingdom was in a deadly battle with another kingdom, and a lot of the recruits would undoubtedly be killed.  Because the farmer's son had a broken leg, the army could not take him.  He was released from conscription!  "How fortunate it is that my son rode the horse and broke his leg!" thought the farmer.  "God bless that horse that threw him on the ground!" 

 

It turned out that despite all his difficulties, the farmer grew a good crop that year.  The next day he was prepared to begin harvesting it all.  That night, the horse broke out of its stall.  It ate and trampled half the crop!  The farmer got up early in the morning and saw the damage.  "I am going to kill that horse..." he muttered.

 

This story illustrated our situation in life.  When something "good" happens, we get happy.  When something "bad" happens, we get depressed.  But in reality, we cannot forsee the difference between "good" and "bad".  What appears to be good today may appear to be bad tomorrow, or vice versa.  The saints advise us to maintain equanimity in pleasure and pain, no matter what the circumstances.  A better attitude is to consider everything as a gift from God, rather than trying to judge the good and bad in it.