The poorest man in his village, he was resting peacefully under a tree when a wild horse, a beautiful white stallion, approached him. When the local villagers saw the horse standing next to the old man, they said," Yesterday, you were poor. Today, you are no longer poor because you own a horse. You must be very happy for you are a lucky old man."
The old man nodded his head and said, " Maybe so, maybe not."
The next day when the old man woke up, he walked outside to find that the horse was gone. When the locals walked by and there was no horse, they said," Old man, yesterday you were wealthy. You owned a horse. Today you have no horse so you are poor again. You are very unlucky and you must be very disappointed."
The old man nodded his head and said, " Maybe so, maybe not."
The very next day, when the old man sat beneath his favorite tree, the horse came back to him. But he was not alone. He had brought with him an entire herd of wild horses. Word spread in the village as they all gathered to watch the old man's herd prancing around. A woman said, "Old man, you are truly blessed. You are a rich man now and you must be very happy."
The old man nodded his head and said, "Maybe so, maybe not."
That afternoon, the old man's son was riding one of the wild horses in town when he fell and broke his leg. One of the villagers brought him home to the old man and said, " Your poor old man. Your son had a terrible injury and he can no longer do hard work on your farm. How awful for you. You must be very angry at the horses. You are so unlucky."
The old man nodded his head and said, "Maybe so, maybe not."
The following day, a military recruiting agency visited the village and demanded that all elighible men be drafted into the war. When the recruitment officers got to the old man's son, they saw his broken leg and excused him from service. When the officers took their sons away, the villagers gathered around the old man. They said, "You are so lucky. Because your son broke his leg, he is still here with you and ours are gone. You are a very lucky man."
And once more the old man said, "Maybe so, maybe not. You just never know."
