Everything Happens for the Best

A king and his minister went into a jungle to hunt. A tiger attacked him and, in the fight, the king lost one of his fingers. He was in agony, but the minister said, “Everything happens for our good.” The king got angry and pushed him into a shallow dry well. As he fell, the minister uttered, “Everything happens for the best.”

After a while, the king was captured by tribals. They intended to sacrifice him but, having observed him with care, decided to set him free. The king returned to the well, rescued the minister, and asked him, “Why did you say ‘everything happened for the best when I pushed you into the well?”