There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years.
One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit.
"Such bad luck," they said sympathetically. "May be," the
farmer replied. The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three
other wild horses. "How wonderful," the neighbors exclaimed. "May
be," replied the old man. The following day, his son tried to ride one
of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came
to offer their sympathy on his misfortune. "May be," answered the
farmer. The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young
men into the army. Seeing that the son's leg was broken, they passed him by.
The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. "
May be ," said the farmer.
(in other versions of this story, the farmer says something other than "maybe" - for instance "we'll see" - or he simply smiles without saying anything)