Bill Evans was a
professional baseball player. He was a very good player and had played in the
World Series many
times.
He was also
superstitious. Before every game, he went to a fortune-teller to find out what
was going to happen.
One day, on the
eve of an important game, he visited his favorite fortune-teller, as usual.
She had told his
fortune many times in the past and had often been correct.
“I’ve got an
important game tomorrow,” he told her. “What’s going to happen?”
The
fortune-teller studied his hand for a few moments. Then she said, “I see a man
wearing a white coat.”
“Do you see
anything else?” Bill asked.
“Yes, I see you
lying on a
stretcher.”
This really
worried Bill. There were often injuries during games, but they were rarely
serious enough for the player to be carried off on a stretcher.
“Then I won’t
play tomorrow,” he told the fortune-teller. “I can’t risk a serious injury.”
The captain of
Bill’s team was not pleased when he told him that he was not going to play.
Bill was one of the best players on the team. However, there was nothing he
could say to make Bill change his mind.
“I’m not going
to risk a serious injury,” he said.
Bill decided not
to watch the game, but to go to the
hospital and visit one of the other players
who had been badly injured a few weeks before.
As he was
walking into the hospital, a doctor wearing a white coat ran out of the door
and , not seeing Bill, knocked him down.
Bill hit his
head on the ground and lost consciousness.
Within a few
seconds, he was being carried into the hospital on a stretcher.