The old man on the frontier lost his horse -- Every cloud has a silver lining

Once upon a time, there lived an old man on the northern border of China. His horse, for no reason at all, got into the territory of the northern tribes. His neighbors commiserated with him. But the old man was not upset at all.
"Perhaps this will soon turn out to be a blessing," said the old man.

A few months later, his animal came back, leading a fine horse from the north. Everyone came to congratulate him. But once again, the old man viewed the event differently. He said this good luck might turn out to be a cause of misfortune.

Since he was well-off and kept good horses, his son became fond of riding. Unfortunately, one day his son broke his thigh bone falling from a horse. Everyone commiserated with the old man.

"Perhaps this will soon turn out to be a blessing," said his father.

One year later, the northern tribes started a big invasion on the border regions. All able-bodied young men were enrolled to take up arms and fought against the invaders, and as a result, around the border nine out of ten men died. The old man's son did not join in the fighting because he was crippled and so both the boy and his father survived.

Nowadays people use to comfort someone who has had some misfortune. It also goes like the following: -- When the old man on the frontier lost his horse, who could have guessed it was a blessing in disguise?