塞翁 失馬 ，焉知 非福 the old man from the frontier|lost his horse|how could one know|not a blessing Es ist ein versteckter Segen, aber es ist kein Segen 塞翁失马， 焉知非福 The old man lost his horse, how could one know it is not a blessing?

從前 ，有 位 老人家 住 喺 好 遠 嘅 地方 ，人人 都 叫 佢 做 塞翁 。 once upon a time|there was|a|old man|lived|in|very|far|possessive particle|place|everyone|all|called|him|by the name of|Sai Weng Once upon a time, there was an old man living in a very remote place, everyone called him the old man of Sai. 塞翁 性格 樂觀 ，為人 處世 嘅 方法 與眾 不同 。 Sai Wong|personality|optimistic|how to treat others|how to deal with the world|possessive particle|method|with others|different Sai Weng had an optimistic personality, and his way of dealing with the world was different from others.

有 一 日 ，塞翁 屋企 隻 老馬 唔 知 點解 ，放牧 嗰陣 蕩失路 ，唔見 咗 。 there is|one|day|the old man from the frontier|at home|measure word for animals|old horse|not|know|why|grazing|at that time|wandered off the road|not seen|past tense marker One day, Sai Weng's old horse, for some reason, lost its way while grazing and disappeared. 過 咗 好多 日 ，佢哋 都 係 揾 唔 返 隻 馬 。 passed|past tense marker|many|days|they|all|are|find|not|return|measure word for animals|horse After many days, they still could not find the horse. 鄰居 知道 咗 呢個 消息 之後 ，都 覺得 好 可惜 ，一齊 去 到 塞翁 屋企 安慰 佢 。 neighbor|knew|past tense marker|this|news|after|also|felt|very|unfortunate|together|went|to|Sai Wong|home|comforted|him After the neighbors learned about this news, they all felt it was a pity and went to Sai Weng's house to comfort him. 不過 塞翁 覺得 無乜 所謂 ，唔見咗 隻 馬 啫 ，無 乜 大不了 。 but|Sai Weng|thinks|not much|so-called|lost|measure word for animals|horse|only|not|much|a big deal However, Sai Weng felt it was no big deal; he just lost a horse, nothing too serious. 佢 反而 安慰 大家 ：「我 唔見咗 隻 馬 ，當然 係 一 件 壞事 ，但 話唔定 會 帶嚟 好 結果 呢 ？」 he|on the contrary|comforted|everyone|I|lost|measure word for animals|horse|of course|is|one|measure word for events|bad thing|but|who knows|will|bring|good|result|question particle Instead, he comforted everyone: "I lost a horse, which is certainly a bad thing, but who knows it might lead to a good outcome?"

鄰居 聽到 塞翁 嘅 說話 ，都 覺得 好笑 。 neighbor|heard|Sai Weng|possessive particle|words|also|thought|funny The neighbors found Sai Weng's words amusing. 隻 馬 唔見 咗 ，明明 係 一 件 壞事 ，但係 塞翁 就 覺得 係 一 件 好事 ，好明顯 係 安慰 自己 ，所以 大家 都 無 將 塞翁 嘅 說話 當真 。 a|horse|lost|past tense marker|clearly|is|one|measure word for events|bad thing|but|old man from the frontier|then|thought|is|one|measure word for events|good thing|very obvious|is|comforting|oneself|so|everyone|all|not|take|old man from the frontier|possessive particle|words|take seriously Losing a horse is clearly a bad thing, but Sai Weng thinks it's a good thing, which is obviously just him comforting himself, so everyone took his words lightly.

過 咗 幾 個 月 ，嗰 隻 蕩失路 嘅 老馬 竟然 跑 返嚟 ，仲 帶 埋 另 一 隻 馬 ！ past|completed action particle|several|measure word|months|that|measure word for animals|lost|possessive particle|old horse|unexpectedly|run|back|still|bring|along|another|one|measure word for animals|horse A few months later, that lost old horse actually came back, and it brought another horse with it! 於是 ，鄰居 又 一齊 嚟 向 塞翁 道賀 ，仲 讚 佢 唔見 馬 嗰陣 好 有 遠見 。 then|neighbors|again|together|came|to|Sai Weng|congratulate|still|praised|he|lost|horse|at that time|very|had|foresight So, the neighbors came together to congratulate Sai Weng, praising him for his foresight when the horse was lost. 不過 今次 塞翁 反而 好 憂心 ：「唉 ，我 無啦啦 多 咗 隻 馬 ，當然 係 一 件 好事 ，但係 話唔定 佢 會 帶嚟 壞 結果 呢 ？」 but|this time|Sai Weng|instead|very|worried|sigh|I|out of nowhere|more|past tense marker|measure word for animals|horse|of course|is|one|measure word for events|good thing|but|who knows|it|will|bring|bad|result|question particle However, this time Sai Weng was actually quite worried: "Sigh, I suddenly have an extra horse, which is certainly a good thing, but what if it brings bad consequences?"

鄰居 聽到 塞翁 嘅 說話 ，都 覺得 奇怪 ，多 咗 隻 馬 ，可以 係 咩 壞事 呢 ？ neighbors|heard|old man Sai|possessive particle|words|all|thought|strange|more|past tense marker|measure word for animals|horse|could|be|what|bad thing|question particle The neighbors, hearing Sai Weng's words, found it strange; how could having an extra horse be a bad thing?

塞翁 屋企 無啦啦 多 咗 隻 馬 ，佢 個 仔 非常 開心 ，於是 成日 騎 住 隻 馬 周圍 走 。 old man from the frontier|home|out of the blue|more|past tense marker|measure word for animals|horse|he|possessive particle|son|very|happy|so|every day|ride|continuous aspect marker|measure word for animals|horse|around|walk Sai Weng's family suddenly had an extra horse, and his son was very happy, so he rode the horse around all the time. 終於 有 一 日 ，個 仔 得意忘形 ，竟然 喺 馬背 上面 跌 咗 落嚟 ，仲 跌 傷 咗 一 隻 腳 ，自此 行 唔 到 路 。 finally|has|one|day|the|boy|overly excited|unexpectedly|at|horse's back|on|fall|past tense marker|down|also|fall|injure|past tense marker|one|measure word for animals|leg|from then on|walk|not|reach|road Finally, one day, the boy got overly excited and fell off the horse, injuring one of his legs, and from then on he couldn't walk. 善良 嘅 鄰居 知道 之後 ，即刻 過嚟 塞翁 屋企 慰問 。 kind|possessive particle|neighbor|knew|afterwards|immediately|came over|Sai Wong|home|condolences The kind neighbor, upon hearing this, immediately came over to visit Sai Wong's home to offer condolences. 不過 ，塞翁 都 係 講 同 一 句 說話 ：「我 個 仔 跌 斷 隻 腳 ，當然 係 一 件 壞事 ，但 之後 話唔定 會 帶嚟 好 結果 呢 ？」 however|Sai Weng|also|is|saying|the same|one|sentence|saying|I|possessive particle|son|fall|break|measure word for legs|leg|of course|is|one|measure word for events|bad thing|but|afterwards|it might be said|will|bring|good|result|question particle However, Sai Wong just kept saying the same thing: "My son broke his leg, which is certainly a bad thing, but who knows it might lead to a good outcome later?"

鄰居 聽到 塞翁 嘅 說話 ，都 覺得 佢 亂咁 講嘢 。 neighbor|heard|Sai Wong|possessive particle|words|also|thought|he|randomly|talking The neighbor, upon hearing Sai Wong's words, thought he was talking nonsense. 大家 都 唔 明白 ，佢 個 仔 跌 斷 咗 隻 腳 ，點 會 係 好事 呢 ？ everyone|all|not|understand|he|possessive particle|son|fall|break|past tense marker|measure word for legs|leg|how|can|be|good thing|question particle Everyone couldn't understand how it could be a good thing that his son broke his leg.

又 過 咗 一 年 ，敵軍 入侵 塞翁 嘅 國家 ，國家 要 所有 身強力壯 嘅 青年 去 打仗 ，結果 十 個 士兵 有 九 個 陣亡 。 again|passed|past tense marker|one|year|enemy|invaded|Sai Weng|possessive particle|country|country|needs|all|strong|possessive particle|youth|to go|to war|as a result|ten|measure word|soldiers|have|nine|measure word|died Another year has passed, and the enemy invaded the country of Sai Wong. The country required all strong and healthy young men to go to war, resulting in nine out of ten soldiers being killed. 而 塞翁 個 仔 因為 行 唔 到 路 ，唔使 去 打仗 ，兩 父子 至 逃過 呢 場 生離死別 嘅 災難 。 and|old man from the frontier|possessive particle|son|because|walk|not|reach|road|no need to|go|to war|two|father and son|only|escaped|this|measure word for events|separation by life and death|possessive particle|disaster However, Sai Wong's son, due to being unable to walk, did not have to go to war, and the two of them managed to escape this disaster of life and death.

呢個 故事 已經 流傳 咗 千 幾 二千 年 ，為 嘅 係 要 話 畀 我哋 知 ，人世間 嘅 好事 同 壞事 唔係 絕對 嘅 —— 有啲 時候 ，壞事 會 帶嚟 好 嘅 結果 ，而 好事 都 會 帶嚟 壞 嘅 結果 。 this|story|already|has been passed down|past tense marker|thousand|more than|two thousand|years|for|possessive particle|is|need to|tell|to|us|know|in the world|possessive particle|good things|and|bad things|are not|absolute|possessive particle|some|times|bad things|will|bring|good|possessive particle|results|and|good things|also|will|bring|bad|possessive particle|results This story has been passed down for over a thousand or two thousand years, and it serves to tell us that good and bad things in the world are not absolute — sometimes, bad things can lead to good outcomes, and good things can also lead to bad outcomes. 凡事 要 睇 兩面 ，唔好 只 著眼 於 一時 嘅 得失 。 in everything|should|look|at both sides|should not|only|focus|on|one moment|possessive particle|gains and losses Everything should be viewed from both sides; do not focus solely on the gains and losses of the moment.