M198b5. Imaginary fortuneteller: an overheard conversation .21.22.38.

An imaginary fortuneteller accidentally overhears someone's conversation, otherwise he would not be able to give the right answer.

Tibetans, Arakans, Monks, Lao, Japanese, North Kyushu.

Burma - Indochina. The Arakan people [Ngatama and Ngachhae, two crooks, decided to cooperate; Ngachhae took the cow away, and Ngatama pretended to be clairvoyant and told the owner where it was; they fed like this for a long time, and then Ngatama was summoned by the king; to test him, it was decided to leave one seed in the tavern and ask the sage how many seeds it contained; Ngatama decided to flee, fell into the river, and the water brought him to the ship, where the advisers were discussing their plan; the next day, Ngatama replied that there was only one seed in the pub; knowing that they were beyond suspicion, both rogues spread the rumor that gold and silver owners would it is safer to demolish everything to Ngatama; when sharing, they quarreled and decided to ask the Banyan spirit; Ngachhai put his father in the hollow in advance, who replied on behalf of the spirit that the treasure belonged to Ngachhai; Ngatama guessed it all, shoved straw into the hollow to set it on fire; then the crooks divided the prey equally]: Kasevich, Osipov 1976, No. 68:208-212; monk [son-in-law is lazy, but keeps himself clairvoyant; his wife's parents fry cakes; by hissing dough in a frying pan, he determined how many of them were, and his mother-in-law thinks he is sleeping; everyone is amazed; a neighbor asked to find a cow, an imaginary fortuneteller accidentally stumbled upon her in the forest; the king orders to find the precious necklace forgotten by the queen on the shore; the fortuneteller, terrified, rushed to the ground under the banyan, where the thief had just buried the necklace; hiding on the branches the thief hears the exclamations of the fortuneteller; "You can't hide from the king", etc., takes them to his address; the thief is guilty; the neighboring king sends his fortuneteller to compete; the winner will receive 7 ships jewels; the fortuneteller rushes into the sea and boards the ship; the arrived sage thinks he is talking to the poor man, reveals the secret: guess what's in the gold box, which is in silver, and the one under seven layers of velvet; this is a hundred-sided ruby; the fortuneteller gave the right answer and received 7 ships of jewelry]: Kasevich, Osipov 1976, No. 165:373-379; Lao (northern Thailand) [chased husband and wife bear, her husband hid in the house and his wife killed the bear; her husband persuaded her to say he killed; the king gave him the title Han Mi ("brave bear killer"); tells the snake to be killed in the well; HM clung to her in fear throat, the snake is dead; now he is Han Mi Chong Ra Ang ("bear and snake killer"); killed a crocodile in the swamp with an accidental shot, received his rank again; the neighboring king sent 4 boxes of gold, silver, gems, fireflies, you have to guess where what is; XM dived under the boat, heard the rowers talking, found out everything (when guessing, I almost forgot the word "firefly"); the enemy attacked, XM on a tree in the enemy's camp, a branch broke down, he fell, shouted that he was almighty XM, the enemy was running, XM got half the kingdom first and then that's it]: Le may 1924:16-19 (translated to Kornev 196:58-61).

Japan. Japanese (from Tohoku to North Kyushu) [a jealous husband is used to saying that he can see through everything; after knowing beforehand that his wife cooks good food for herself and his guests, he comes and pretends to senses where the food is hidden in the house; the wife talks about his abilities; he tells his wife to burn down the house and, far from it, pretends to smell smoke; the rich man bets with him and loses; the master sends a palanquin for the fortuneteller to find the missing jewel or find out the cause of his daughter's illness; on the way, hiding under the temple floor, the fortuneteller hears a conversation thieves or foxes responsible for theft or illness; or the perpetrators come to him when he pretends to be performing a ritual to identify thieves; when the master asks which fortuneteller wants the reward, he asks not to be called more clairvoyant; receives money as a reward]: Ikeda 1971, No. 1641:261-262.