A poor farmer whose only worldly possession is a mare wakes up one morning to discover that the mare has gone. He runs to his parents' house and breaks the terrible news. When he's finished, they ask, "Are you sure it's bad news?"
"Of course it's bad news!" he replies, stomping angrily away.
Ten days later, his mare returns, bringing with her a magnificent stallion. The farmer runs to his parents and tells them the wonderful news.
"Are you sure it's good news?" they ask.
"Of course it's good news," he declares, leaving in a huff.
Days go by, and the farmer decides to try to break the stallion. He bridles the beast, climbs on its back and is promptly thrown to the ground and trampled. The village doctor informs him that he will be a cripple for life. When he can do so, he makes his way to his parents and tells them the dreadful news.
"Are you sure it's bad news?" they ask.
He doesn't answer, but he mutters to himself all the way home. Two weeks later, a detachment of the emperor's army arrives to draft all the able-bodied men of the village. Of course, they pass over the crippled farmer. He hobbles to his parents' house to share his joy.
"Are you sure it's good news?" they ask.
The story has no end, of course, but the point is clear:
