Maybe

There once was a farmer who had a son and a horse.  One day, the horse broke the fence and ran away.  The townsfolk came to console him saying, "oh, what bad fortune..."
The man replied with, "Maybe."
A few days later, his horse returned with three other wild horses.  People came and said, "oh, what good fortune!"
"Maybe," he replied.
A few months later, his son tried to ride one of the wild horses and was thrown off, breaking his leg.  Again, the townspeople came to say, "what bad fortune."
"Maybe."
Then there was a conscription notice for all able-bodied men for something like a suicide mission.  They saw the old man with his son that had a broken leg.
The townsfolk noted: "What good fortune!"
"Maybe," said the man.


It took me forever to figure out what that meant.