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Chinese Fable on Luck

1    There once was a farmer. One day the farmer's only horse broke out of the corral and ran away. The farmer's neighbors, all hearing of the horse running away, came to the farmer's house to view the corral. As they stood there, the neighbors all said, "Oh what bad luck!" The farmer replied, "Perhaps."

2    About a week later, the horse returned, bringing with it a whole herd of wild horses, which the farmer and his son quickly corralled. The neighbors, hearing of the corralling of the horses, came to see for themselves. As they stood there looking at the corral filled with horses, the neighbors said, "Oh what good luck!" The farmer replied, "Perhaps."

3    A couple of weeks later, the farmer's son's leg was badly broken when he was thrown from a horse he was trying to break. A few days later the broken leg became infected and the son became delirious with fever. The neighbors, all hearing of the incident, came to see the son. As they stood there, the neighbors said, "Oh what bad luck!" The farmer replied, "Perhaps."

4    At that same time in China, a war broke out between two rival warlords. In need of more soldiers, a captain came to the village to conscript young men to fight in the war. When the captain came to take the farmer's son, he found the young man with a broken leg--delirious with fever. Knowing there was no way the son could fight, the captain left him there. A few days later, the son's fever broke. The neighbors, hearing of the son's not being taken to fight in the war and of his return to good health, all came to see him. As they stood there, each one said, "Oh what good luck!" The farmer replied, "Perhaps."

An East Indian Fable of Luck

1    A king once sat with his minister and asked, “Do you believe in luck?”

2    To which the minister replied, “I do indeed.”

3    “Ahh,” sighed the king, “Can you prove that luck exists?”

4    “Yes,” said the minister, “I believe I can, but it will take a few days.” The minister excused himself and walked into the neighboring village. He talked to several people trying to find those who believed in luck, and those who believed in themselves as the maker of their own luck. Finally, the minister invited two men to come to the palace for the night.

5    The man who believed in luck ran home to tell his wife of his good fortune. While the man who believed in his own luck went home to tell his wife that, by his own wits, he had been invited to the palace.

6    Both men were received at the palace and given a series of tasks to complete. The man who believed in luck leaned toward his companion and said, “Aren’t we lucky men to be so honored?”

7    “Nonsense! I am here because the minister recognized in me something special. They were lucky to find me!”

8    As night fell, the minister took the two men to the room that they would share for the night. As the last of the sun’s beams faded the men could see a small bag suspended above them from the ceiling. It was too high for them to reach and as the room became dark the man who thought he made his own luck grumbled, “I’m hungry. How wrong of them to work us all day and not offer us a single thing for our bellies.”

9    “It’s just our luck I guess. We were honored to find work, but unlucky in their forgetting about our hunger. Maybe tomorrow will bring refreshments.”

10    “I’ll not wait for your luck! I will get that bag, perhaps this is the last test to see if we will make our own luck and feed ourselves!” cried the man who made his own luck. “Now get up and let me on your shoulders!”

11    The man who believed in luck said, “I will do no such thing. I am comfortable here and will not take a gift that has not been given.” He turned over and tried to get to sleep. The other man glared at him and began stacking furniture so that he could climb up to the sack.

12    As the man reached the top of the stack, the room became very dark. He had the sack in his hands and carefully opened it. He could feel small peas and stones mixed together and he placed a pea in mouth and enjoyed the fruits of his labor. Then he placed another in his mouth, but it was a stone and so he spit it on the man below saying, “Here is your luck, you fool. This is what you get for being lazy and sleeping there.”

13    The man with the bag repeated his actions until he had eaten all of the peas and spit the stones on the man below. He then settled down to sleep on top of the stack because he could not see to get down. When he awoke the other man was laughing and dancing around as the minister smiled and led him out of the room.

14    “Wait,” called the man on the stack, “why are you so happy?”

15    “Because the stones you thought you spit down on me were diamonds. You had a meal, and I will now have meals for the rest of my life. I’m so lucky! Thank-you for giving this fool a fortune!”

16    The minister reported back to the king and said, “Sire, there is such a thing as luck, but I think that it is as rare as a bag of peas mixed with diamonds. So I think it would be best that none of us should hope to live by luck.”

What happens in the Chinese fable just before the captain finds the farmers son?

In the East Indian fable, what is the man who makes his own luck really spitting down on the man sleeping below?

Both of these stories main theme talks about:

Read the passage from the East Indian fable:

The minister reported back to the king and said, “Sire, there is such a thing as luck, but I think that it is as rare as a bag of peas mixed with diamonds. So I think it would be best that none of us should hope to live by luck.”

What is the minister saying?

In the Chinese fable, what causes the wild horses to come to the farm?

In the East Indian fable, how does the man who makes his own luck solve the problem of his hunger?

Read the passage from the Chinese fable:

At that same time in China, a war broke out between two rival warlords. In need of more soldiers, a captain came to the village to conscript young men to fight in the war.


In this text, how is the word conscript used?

Read the passage from the Chinese fable:

Both men were received at the palace and given a series of tasks to complete.

How is the word “received” being used in this sentence?

The author of the Chinese fable has the farmer repeat the response, “perhaps,” to both good and bad luck. What does this cause the reader to conclude? (Check all that apply).

In the East Indian fable, the minister says luck exist, but that he would not want to live by it. Based on the story why does he believe this? (Check all that apply).