The King and The Astrologer Story

Long ago, there was a king who really liked to find out what would happen in his future from people who could tell. One day, a well-known person who could predict the future came to visit the king's main city on his way to a place called Benares. The king went to see him to learn about what was going to happen to him. The person who could predict the future told the king something not very nice. This made the king really angry, and he decided that the person should be put to death. The king said, "People like you shouldn't be allowed to live if you're going to disturb the peace of the world."

But just before the person who could predict the future was going to be killed, the king had another thought. He asked, "How long are you going to live?" The person who could predict the future was really clever and quick-witted. He answered, "The stars say that I'll only die a week before Your Majesty. So, goodbye!" When the king heard this, he turned really pale, like he had seen a ghost. He shouted, "Get this person out of here! Don't let him come back again!"