Read the text and answer the questions.

    A few years ago, while I was on holiday in the Himalayas, I stopped for the night in a small village. It was a very poor place and there was no proper hotel, but the owner of a restaurant offered me a bed for the night.

    ''Please wait here," he said, pointing to a table just outside his restaurant, "while I prepare your room."

    It was a beautiful evening. The sun was setting behind the dark mountains and the stars were just beginning to come out. The villagers were lighting fires for their evening meals and there was a. pleasant smell of wood smoke in the; air.

   Then I noticed that I was no longer alone. Someone was sitting at the table beside me. It was an old man, with a long white beard. His clothes were dirty and almost in rags.

   “What do you want?" I asked. "Let me tell your fortune, sir," he said. I laughed. "I don't believe in that sort, of thing," I told him. All the same, the old man took hold of my hand. "I can tell you your future," he said. I tried to take my hand away, but the old man held on to it, gently but very firmly.

   "Very well," I said. "But first of all tell me about my past. If you can tell me about that, I'll let you tell me about the future too." The old man looked hard at my hand for a long time without speaking. I smiled to myself. "He can't do it," I thought.

    Then, in a low soft voice, the old man began, to tell me about my childhood. He talked about my family and the town I used to live in. He went on to tell me about my life in different parts of the world.

    Every word he said was true! "Stop!" I said. "How can you know all these things?" "I know about the past and the present," the old man replied. "And I also know about the future. Are you ready to hear about your future too?" I hesitated. Did I really want to know? Just at that moment, the owner of the restaurant came out. "Your room is ready now, sir," he said. "Oh! I thought I heard voices. Were you talking to someone?".

   I looked around. The old man was not there. "Yes," I said. I described the old man. "Oh, him!" the owner of the restaurant said. "That's the village lunatic! He thinks he can tell people's fortunes! I hope he wasn't a nuisance.