The Fortune Teller

The Fortune Teller
In the great city of Taipei, there lived a man called
Lin and his wife. They had no children. Because of this,
they were very unhappy. One day, they found a baby
boy outside their door. He was wrapped in a blanket and
crying. They took the baby into their house and called him
Sau Ling. They loved him very much.
When Sau Ling was a young man, a fortune-teller
came to the house. "You must send your son away," he
said. "One day he will become a thief and cause you a lot
of trouble."
Mr and Mrs Lin were very sad to hear this. They
believed what the fortune-teller said. They gave Sau Ling
some clothes and money and sent him away.
Several years later, Sau Ling was having a meal in
an inn several miles from Taipei. He put his bag on the
floor near his table. After finishing his meal, he picked up
his bag. "That's strange!" he thought, "It feels so heavy."
He looked inside. It was full of small gold bars. Then he
realised that someone had taken his bag by mistake and
left another bag, in its place.
That evening, a young man came to the inn, "Has
anyone seen my bag?" he asked. Sau Ling was very honest.
He returned the bag to him. The young man thanked
him. "You are really very honest," he said, "I shall ask my
orientation
complication
Activity 4
Activity 5I'm Sorry to Hear That
41
Read the following words taken from the text. Then
find their synonyms.
father to give you a job." The young man's father was a
rich merchant. He gave Sau Ling a good job. "But go home
first," he said, "and take a holiday." Sau Ling returned to
Taipei. Mr and Mrs Lin were delighted to see him again.
The fortune-teller was also present. Sau Ling told them
what had happened. The fortune-teller did not know what
to say. He left the house without saying a word. Mr and
Mrs Lin never believed in fortune-teller after that. Sau
Ling took them to live with him and they were very happy
and contented until the end of their lives.