ONCE UPON A TIME, there was a horse breeder named Fen. Having lost his wife to a mysterious sickness and a son to war, he lived a quiet life with his only remaining son Terry. Together, they reared and trained the finest horses the village has ever seen.
One night, while fast asleep, Fen woke up to a roaring blaze and a plume of smoke – his stable was burning! He kicked off the blankets and dashed outside, only to find that all his horses broke out and ran into the wild. He spent the next few days looking for them with no success.
After a week or so, the neighbours came to commiserate with him. After all, he had lost his most prized possessions. After receiving their words of comfort, he said to them, “Don’t worry my dear friends, these things happen.”
After a few more days, while repairing his stable, he saw faint images in the far distance. He quickly realised it was his horses, but to his surprised, they brought along with them the rarest wild stallions. Delighted, he called his son Terry. They ran towards the horses and brought them into their stable.
Word quickly spread and the neighbours came back, this time bringing words of delight and celebration. “Wow,” one of them said, “you are so lucky!” In response, Fen said to them, “Oh well, my dear friends, these things happen.”
The next morning, Terry tried riding and taming one of the wild horses. The horse jolted wildly and flung him off its back. He landed on his leg and snapped his ankle. He let out a fierce scream to which his father responded. After bringing Terry indoors, Fen ran to one of the neighbours to ask for medicines and herbs. “Oh, that’s terrible, what happened to Terry, you are most unfortunate,” said the neighbour. “Yes indeed,” said Fen, “But Terry is still young and he will be alright. But anyway, I guess these things happen.”
Two weeks later, war broke out with a neighbouring town and the army went from house to house, conscripting young men to become soldiers. The families in the village were distraught at the idea that they might never see their sons again. But, when the army arrived at Fen’s farm, they left Terry behind because he would be of no use to them with a broken leg.
The neighbours came around to Fen, telling him how fortunate he was, to which he said “Oh well, these things happen.”
