THE FORTUNE-TELLER'S STORY

this is the story of a young samurai that learned to be a fortune-teller, he travaled around the country , he used a book called i-ching for fortune-telling , he learned many things and heard many stories . he had one favorite story that he often told:

"this story is about a young called shoko setsu, he was given a very important position at the emperor's court, but he only wanted to study and he gave up the position . he went to live in a hunt in the mountains and studied alone there.
one day of summer , he took a cup of water , then he lay down on the floor of his hut, he was just falling asleep when something ran across his face , he was angry so he picked up his cup and threw it at the animal , but the animal escaped and the cup was broken , he look more closely it . there were seventeen chinese characters along the line of the break this is what they said:
" in the year of the horse, in the fourth month, on the seventeenth day, at the fourteenth hour, this cup will fly across a hut in the mountain and break"
this day was the exact date, shoko setsu was very surprised. so he went to the place where he bought this cup, in this place a old man said" this cup was made here, but the characteres were written by an old man. he was a fortune-teller and he wanted to write on the cup before i put it in the oven, his house is not far from here.i can show you the way, but i do not know his name"
when shoko setsu arrive at the house, a student said: " we are very sorry to tell you that our teacher died a few days ago. but we are waiting for you, he knew that you would come to this house at this hour on this day. your name is shoko setsu, our teacher left this book for you.
shoko setsu acepted the book and he come back to his hut.
the book was many secrets about fortune-telling, the book senthim to a corner of the hut, great luuck was waiting for him there, it said. and under the earth in the corner of his little hut, he found a pot of gold."

our old japanese fortune-teller was not as lucky as shoko setsu. died in a snowstorm. when the people heard of his strange death, they remembered the old japanese saying: "the fortune-teller cannot see his own future"