Twiglet Tales

Twiglet Tales

塞翁失马 (Sài Wēng Shī Mǎ): The Old Man Who Lost His Horse

塞翁失马,焉知非福 literally means 'the old man at the frontier loses his horse — how do we know it's not a blessing?' A story showing good and bad luck are intertwined, teaching kids to stay calm through both fortune and misfortune.

Character by character

sài

frontier

wēng

old man

shī

to lose

horse

睡前故事

Audio coming soon

从前,在边塞住着一位老人,大家都叫他塞翁。他养了一匹好马,是家里的宝贝。

有一天,这匹马竟然跑丢了,跑到了塞外去。邻居们听说了,都跑来安慰他:“哎呀,太可惜了!”

塞翁却一点也不难过,笑着说:“这怎么就知道不是好事呢?

大家都觉得他在说傻话。可没过几个月,那匹马竟然自己跑回来了,还带回来一匹健壮的野马

邻居们又纷纷跑来道贺:“您可真是好运气啊!”

塞翁却又摇摇头:“这怎么就知道不是坏事呢?

果然,没过多久,塞翁的儿子骑着那匹野马玩耍,一不小心从马上摔了下来,摔断了腿

邻居们又来安慰他,塞翁还是那句话:“这怎么就知道不是好事呢?

又过了一年,边塞打起仗来,官府征召所有身强力壮的年轻人上战场。村里的年轻人几乎都战死沙场,唯独塞翁的儿子,因为腿断了,不能打仗,留在家里,平安无事

这就是塞翁失马,焉知非福的故事好事坏事常常互相转化,此刻的祸,可能是将来的福

故事告诉宝宝

这个故事告诉我们:

  1. 好运和坏运常常会互相转化。丢马看似倒霉,却带回了野马;儿子摔断腿看似不幸,却因此躲过了战乱。
  2. 遇到事情不要太早下结论。当下看起来的好事,未必一直是好事;当下看起来的坏事,也未必一直是坏事。

所以呀,不管是遇到好事还是坏事,都不要太得意,也不要太沮丧,因为福祸常常是会互相转换的

Bedtime story

Long ago, an old man lived near the frontier, and everyone called him Old Sai. He owned a fine horse that he treasured. One day, the horse ran away, wandering off beyond the border. His neighbors came to console him, saying, "What terrible luck!" But Old Sai only smiled and said, "How do we know this isn't a good thing?"

Everyone thought he was talking nonsense. But a few months later, the horse returned on its own — bringing along a strong, magnificent wild horse with it! The neighbors rushed over to congratulate him on his good fortune. Old Sai just shook his head and said, "How do we know this isn't a bad thing?"

Sure enough, not long after, his son was riding the wild horse when he fell and broke his leg. Once again, the neighbors came to offer their sympathy, and once again, Old Sai simply said, "How do we know this isn't a good thing?"

A year later, war broke out at the frontier, and the government drafted every able-bodied young man to fight. Nearly all the young men from the village died in battle — but Old Sai's son, because of his broken leg, could not go to war. He stayed home safe and sound.

Moral of the story

This story teaches us that fortune and misfortune are often deeply connected:

  1. Good and bad luck can transform into each other. Losing the horse seemed unlucky, yet it brought back a second horse; the broken leg seemed unlucky, yet it kept the son out of the war.
  2. Don't rush to judge a situation too quickly. What looks like good news today might not stay good, and what looks like bad news today might not stay bad.

In short: Stay calm through both luck and misfortune — because either one might turn into the other before the story is over.

塞翁失马 (Sài Wēng Shī Mǎ): The Old Man Who Lost His Horse | Twiglet Tales