Story about happiness: Are you really sure things can't get worse

Once there was a poor man who lived with his wife and six children in a very small one-room house. They were always getting in each other’s way and there was so little space they could hardly breathe. Finally, the man could stand it no more. He talked to his wife and asked her what to do. “Go see the village wise man,” she told him, and after arguing a while, he went.

And so the poor man went to the village wise man and told him how miserable things were at home with him, his wife, and the six children all eating, living and sleeping in one room. The poor man shared with the wise man, “We’re even starting to yell and fight with each other. Life couldn’t be worse.” The wise man thought very deeply about the poor man’s problem. Then he said, “Do exactly as I tell you and things will get better. Do you promise?” “I promise,” the poor man said.

The old wise man then asked the poor man a strange question. “Do you own any animals?” “Yes,” he said. “I have one cow, one goat, and some chickens.” “Good,” said the wise man. “When you get home, take all the animals into your house to live with you.” The poor man was astonished to hear this advice from the wise man, but he had promised to do exactly what the wise man said. So he went home and took all the farm animals into the tiny one-room house.

The next day the poor man ran back to see the wise man. “What have you done to me?” he cried. “It’s awful. I did what you told me and the animals are all over the house! Please, help me!” The old wise man listened and said calmly, “Now go home and take the chickens back outside.” The poor man did as he was told, but hurried back again the next day. “The chickens are gone, but, the goat!” he moaned. “The goat is smashing up all the furniture and eating everything in sight!”

The old wise man said, “Go home and remove the goat.” So the poor man went home and took the goat outside. But he ran back again the next day crying and wailing. “What a nightmare you have brought to my house with your advice! With the cow, it’s like living in a stable! Can human beings live with an animal like this?”

The old wise man said sweetly, “My friend, you are right. Go home now and take the cow out of your house.” And the poor man went quickly home and took the cow out of the house. The next day he came running back to the old wise man again. With a big smile on his face, he said, “we have such a good life now. The animals are all out of the house. The house is so quiet and we’ve got room to spare! What a joy!”