Good or Bad Hard to Say

Once upon a time, there was a king. The king liked one of his followers very much because he was very wise and always gave very useful advice. Therefore the king took him along wherever he went.

One day, the king was bitten by a dog, the finger was injured and the wound was getting worse. He asked the follower if that was a bad sign. The follower said, 'Good or bad, hard to say'. In the end, the finger of the king became so bad that it had to be cut off. The king asked the follower again if that was a bad sign. Again, the follower gave the same answer, 'Good or bad, hard to say'. The king became very angry and sent the follower to prison.

One day, the king went hunting in the jungle. He got excited when he was on the chase of a deer. Deeper and deeper he went inside the jungle. In the end he found himself lost in the jungle. To make thing worse, he got captured by the native people who lived inside the jungle. They wanted to sacrifice him to their god. But when they noticed that the king had one finger short, they released him immediately as he was not a perfect man anymore and not suitable for sacrifice. The king managed to get back to his palace after all. And he finally understood the follower's wise quote, 'Good or bad, hard to say'. If he hadn't lost one finger, he could have been killed by the native people.

He ordered the release of the follower, and apologized to him. But to the king's amazement, the follower was not mad at him at all. Instead, the follower said, 'It wasn't a bad thing that you locked me up.' Why? Because if the king hadn't locked the follower up, he would have brought the follower along to the jungle. If the natives found that the king was not suitable, they would have used the follower. Again, the quote 'Good or bad, hard to say' stands.


The moral of the story

Everything that happens in this world, there is no absolute good or bad.

Sometimes good things turned out to be bad things eventually, while bad things become a gain.

Whatever good things that happen to you, enjoy it, but don't hold on too tight to it; treat it as a surprise in your life.

Whatever bad things that happen to you, don't feel too sad nor despair; in the end, it might not be a totally bad thing after all.

If one can understand this, he or she will find life much easier.

Posted to my e-mail by my friend, Yap Chuan Chew.