Way up north, where the wind often whistled through the grass, lived an old fellow named Mr. Sai. He didn't have a lot, but he did have a few good horses.

One sunny morning, one of Mr. Sai's best horses decided to go on an adventure all by itself. Poof! It galloped away and disappeared over the hills.
His neighbors came to visit. "Oh no, Mr. Sai!" they said, looking very sad. "Losing your horse is such bad luck!"
Mr. Sai just smiled a little, stroking his beard. "Hmm," he said calmly. "Bad luck? Good luck? Who can tell? We'll see."

A few days later, guess what happened? The horse came trotting back home! And it wasn't alone. It brought a beautiful, strong, wild horse with it!
The neighbors rushed over, cheering. "Wow, Mr. Sai! You're so lucky! Now you have two amazing horses!"
Mr. Sai nodded slowly. "Hmm," he said again. "Good luck? Bad luck? Who can tell? We'll see."

Mr. Sai's son was thrilled with the new wild horse. He loved to ride it, galloping fast like the wind. But one afternoon, whoops! The horse bucked, and the son fell off, breaking his leg.
The neighbors came by, shaking their heads. "Oh, dear, Mr. Sai! That new horse brought terrible luck after all! Your poor son!"
And what do you think Mr. Sai said? You guessed it! "Hmm. Bad luck? Good luck? Who can tell? We'll see."

Not long after that, a big war started. Soldiers came to the village. They said all the strong, healthy young men had to go and fight in the army.
Many families were very sad as their sons marched away. But when the soldiers saw Mr. Sai's son with his leg all bandaged up, they said, "He can't fight with a broken leg." So, he got to stay home, safe and sound.

Then, the neighbors finally understood. They looked at Mr. Sai with big, round eyes.
Mr. Sai smiled. He knew that life is full of surprises. What seems like a bad thing one day might turn out to be a good thing later. And a good thing might lead to something unexpected too. It's like a big, twisty-turny road, and you never know exactly what's around the next bend!

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