Maybe

 One day a wild horse turned up at a wise old man’s house. At this time a horse was valuable, equivalent to a house today. All the other villagers came and congratulated him on his luck and good fortune.

‘ Maybe’ he said.

A week later his son was thrown trying to break the horse in. The resulting broken leg meant he could not help run the farm. This was harvest time and all the crops would be lost. When the villagers learned of the son’s accident they commiserated on his misfortune.

The wise old man would only say ‘Maybe’.

Two weeks later Army generals came to the village conscripting all fit young men to join in an ongoing war. The wise old man’s son was the only one unaffected due to his broken leg.

Author Unknown