The Stream · A parable from the Huainanzi

The Horse That Returned

An older man looks towards an empty horse stall at his modest frontier home.

A family near the frontier lost a horse. The neighbours came to offer sympathy, but the father wondered whether the loss might bring something else.

Two horses return through the open gate as the father and his son watch.

Months later, the horse returned with another fine horse. The neighbours celebrated. The father wondered what might follow this good fortune.

The father sits with his son, whose injured leg is supported by a splint, while soldiers pass far beyond their home.

His son, who loved riding, fell and broke his leg.

Later, war reached the frontier. Many of those who fought died, but the son's injury kept him from battle.

Father and son survived.

Reflection

What feels final may still be unfolding.

Alrewaq
Read as text

A family near the frontier lost a horse. The neighbours came to offer sympathy, but the father wondered whether the loss might bring something else.

Months later, the horse returned with another fine horse. The neighbours celebrated. The father wondered what might follow this good fortune.

His son, who loved riding, fell and broke his leg.

Later, war reached the frontier. Many of those who fought died, but the son's injury kept him from battle.

Father and son survived.

Reflection

What feels final may still be unfolding.

Alrewaq
About this story & sources

An original Alrewaq retelling of the frontier-horse parable in the Huainanzi, chapter 18, Human Affairs. This is a Chinese philosophical parable, not a documented event or a Zen story. Its changing fortunes do not promise that every loss will turn out well. The illustrations imagine the tale’s rural setting; they are not historical reconstructions.