You cannot always know how things in your life will turn out, or what they will become — yet in the end, everything turns out beautifully.

Once there was a king. He was not, in truth, a very clever king; but he had been blessed with a remarkable advisor. The advisor was wise indeed, and the king, though not so clever himself, was at least clever enough to know that he had a brilliant advisor. Wherever the king went, he took the advisor with him.

The advisor had an unfailingly positive way of seeing things. Whatever happened, he would say, “It is not so bad, my dear lord,” and the king would believe him.

One morning the king rose from bed — he was a rather plump man — and as he slipped on his royal slippers on the marble floor, his foot shot out from under him and down he crashed. He landed square on his wrist. The pain was so sharp that, after a sickening crack, he cried out, and the whole palace heard his scream. Before he called even for the queen, he shouted: “Advisor!”

The advisor rushed in. “What has happened, my lord?” The king, writhing in pain, snapped, “Can’t you see what happened? How did this happen? Why did this happen?” The advisor looked at him and said calmly, “This is a good thing, my king.” The king was so furious that he roared, “How dare you say such a thing! Guards! Take him away!” And the guards led the advisor down to the dungeon and locked the door upon him.

A week later, his wrist bandaged and slowly healing, the king felt well enough to ride out for some fresh air. He loved riding, and his favorite white horse was saddled. He rode and rode, farther than ever before, until without realizing it he had crossed into a strange and foreign land. There, distracted by the sight of a beautiful white deer, he failed to notice a low branch — and was knocked clean off his horse. In an instant, a cannibal tribe surrounded him and took him captive.

They bound him and carried him back to their camp. Drums began to beat, a great fire was prepared, and the king understood with horror what was coming. But just as they dragged him toward the flames to sacrifice him, his bandages came loose, and everyone saw his wounded, blood-stained wrist. At once the drums stopped. A great groan of disappointment rose from the tribe: the offering was blemished, and a blemished victim could not be sacrificed. They hauled the king back onto his horse, gave it a slap, and sent him galloping home.

Shaken and traumatized, the king at last reached his kingdom. As he collapsed, he suddenly realized how lucky he had been — and his advisor’s words came back to him: “This is a good thing.” He leapt up and ran down to the dungeon himself. “Open it, quickly!” The door swung wide, and there sat the advisor. “Oh, my advisor, forgive me — what have I done?” And he told him everything that had happened. “You see? The broken wrist saved my life. But you — you were locked in this dungeon. How could that be good for you?”

The advisor was silent for a moment, then smiled. “My lord, you know I am always at your side. Had I not been in this dungeon, I would have ridden out with you that day — and they would have captured us both. And when they found that you could not be sacrificed, they would have sacrificed me instead. So you see, being locked in the dungeon was a very good thing for me.”

And the message of this story is this: you cannot know how things will unfold. Do not judge too soon. The quieter you become, the more clearly you will see things as they truly are; and when you see them as they are, your heart will fill with gratitude, and you will grow in wisdom. Our minds are always rushing to early conclusions, always too quick to judge, and forever misreading what is really happening. Life may sometimes seem to demand a struggle — but stay quiet, and your mind will open, and you will come to see the beauty of the very situation you are in.