Good or Bad

Once upon a time, there was a king. The king liked one of his followers very much because he was very wise and always gave very useful advice. Therefore the king took him along wherever he went.

One day, the king was bitten by a dog, the finger was injured and the wound was getting worse. He asked the follower if that was a bad sign. The follower said, 'Good or bad, hard to say'. In the end, the finger of the king was too bad that had to be cut.

The king asked the follower again if that was a bad sign. Again, the follower gave the same answer, Good or bad, hard to say'.

The king became very angry and sent the follower to prison. One day, the king went hunting in the jungle. He got excited when he was on the chase of a deer. Deeper and deeper he went inside the jungle. In the end he found himself lost in the jungle.

To make thing worse, he got captured by the native people lived inside the jungle. They wanted to sacrifice him to their god. But when they notice that the king had one finger short, they released him immediately as he was not a perfect man anymore and not suitable for sacrifice.

The king managed to get back to his palace after all. And he finally understood the follower's wise quote, 'Good or bad, hard to say'.

If he hadn't lost one finger, he could have been killed by the native people. He ordered to release the follower, and apologized to him. But to the king amaze, the follower was not mad at him at all.

Instead, the follower said, 'It wasn't a bad thing that you locked me up.' Why?

Because if the king hadn't locked the follower up, he would have brought the follower along to the jungle. If the native found that the king was not suitable, they would have used the follower. Again, the quote 'Good or bad, hard to say' stands.

The moral of the story is that everything that happens in this world, there is no absolute good or bad. Sometimes good things turned out to be bad things eventually, while bad things become good again. Whatever good things that happen to you, enjoy it, but don't have to hold too tight to it, treat it as a surprise in your life. Whatever bad things that happen to you, don't have to feel too sad or despair, in the end, it might not be a total bad thing after all. If one can understand this, he or she will find life much easier.

Never regret a day in your life.
Good days give you happiness;
Bad days give you experiences;
Both are essential to life

"Don't go upstairs"

The story took place during the 7th month of the Chinese lunar calendar and revolved around a young lad named Sam. Sam at that time was working as a general worker, in a small company located at Tuas. During one particular working day, the whole of Sam's company was requested to work OT in order to meet a deadline due tomorrow. By the time everything was done, it was already past 1 am and Sam was the last person left in the office. He was left wondering whether there were still any bus services at this hour. He decided to try his luck and quickly tidied up the office, locked up and rushed towards the bus stop. The bus stop was situated by a small narrow road with dense forestation surrounding the area. Sam waited for about 20 minutes and was about to make his way to the main road to catch a cab when a double deck bus appeared from nowhere. He hesitantly waved it down, boarded the bus and the only person he saw on the same bus was a frail ghastly looking old woman. The old woman was dressed in white samfoo and black pant,attire favoured by maids in those early days or "Ma Jie" as they were commonly known then. Sam felt uneasy upon seeing her and was about to go up to the upper deck when a voice ranged out in Cantonese, "Young man, don't go upstairs. Upstairs dangerous." It was the old woman.  Her comment sent a chill through Sam's bones and he figured that the upper deck might be "dirty". He decided to heed the old woman's advice and grab a seat at the lower deck even though he felt uncomfortable by her presence. It was an agonizing 20 minutes journey before Sam reached his bus stop. He quickly alighted and turned to steal a quick glance at the old woman, who stared right back at him by the window. Without further ado, Sam hastened his pace and was fortunate to reach home safely.

The next day, Sam was requested to work OT and ended up being the last person left in the office again. It was already past midnight and Sam was contemplating whether to take a cab home but decided against it in the end as money was tight. So he made his way to the bus stop again and  after about 20 minutes, the same double deck bus appeared. Sam boarded  the bus and saw the same old woman again. He decided to go to the upper deck again when the old woman called out to him, "Young man, don't go upstairs. Upstairs dangerous." Even though, he heard it before, he still felt a certain fear inside him since it's the 7th month. To be on the safe side, he reluctantly took a seat at the lower deck again and reached home with no incidents.

The third day, Sam was asked to do OT again. By now he was feeling dreaded and worried as he didn't want to repeat the same process again. But he obliged nevertheless since it's his livelihood. He was, you guessed it, the last person left in the office again. He made the same journey to the bus stop, occasionally checking his back as he walked. The double deck bus arrived, he boarded it and saw the same old woman again. As he proceeded to go upstairs, the old woman warned him again, "Young man, don't go upstairs. Upstairs dangerous." Sam was fed up with the old woman by now and decided to go upstairs even though he was feeling a bit scared. He saw no one else when he reached the upper deck and slowly made his way to the back of the bus and sat down. Sam's heart began pounding away as he waited anxiously for something to happen. After 30 minutes, with nothing happening, Sam went downstairs to confront the old woman and asked her why she kept saying it's dangerous upstairs.

The old woman turned, stared at him and replied, "Young man, don't go upstairs. Upstairs dangerous. Upstairs got no bus driver."