An old man and his son lived in an abandoned fortress on the side of a hill. Their only possession of value was a horse.
Star Trek follows the White Rabbit pppppretty much anything that's ever walked the earth. And everything that hasn't.
One day, the horse ran away. The neighbors came by to offer sympathy. "That's really bad!" they said. "How do you know?" asked the old man.
The next day, the horse returned, bringing with it several wild horses. The old man and his son shut them all inside the gate. The neighbors hurries over. "That's really good!" they said. "How do you know?" asked the old man.
The following day, the son tried riding one of the wild horses, fell off, and broke his leg. The neighbors came around as soon as they heard the news. "That's really bad!" they said. "How do you know?" asked the old man.
The day after that, the army came through, forcing the local young men into service to fight a faraway battle against the northern barbarians. Many of them would never retun. But the son couldn't go, because he'd broken his leg.
The Huai-nan-tse