"Father, what is fate?" asked Nasruddin's son.
"It's complicated," replied Nasruddin. "Sometimes you expect things will go badly, but instead things end up going well; that's an example of good luck. At other times, things go badly even though you were sure that they'd go well; that's an example of bad luck."
"But I asked you about fate," said his son. "I wasn't asking about good luck or bad luck."
"I'm getting to that!" said Nasruddin. "When you aren't sure whether something will turn out good or bad, and then the bad outcome prevails, that's what people call fate."
Inspired by: Mulla's Donkey and Other Friends by Mehdi Nakosteen
Notes: This story is on p. 100 of the book. Nakosteen tells this story about Nasruddin and his friends; I changed it to Nasruddin and his son.
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