A merchant in Baghdad sends his servant to the market to buy provisions. At the market, the servant gets bumped by a woman in the crowd. When he turns around, he sees Death standing there, making a threatening gesture at him.
Terrified, the servant rushes back to his master, tells him what happened, and begs for a horse so he can flee to the city of Samarra to escape. The master agrees, and the servant rides off as fast as he can.
Later, the merchant goes down to the market himself and spots Death. He confronts Death and asks, "Why did you frighten my servant with a threatening gesture this morning?"
Death replies, "That was not a threatening gesture, it was just a startle of surprise. I was amazed to see him here in Baghdad, because I have an appointment with him tonight in Samarra."
Moral of the story: You cannot escape your destiny or death, often, the very actions you take to avoid it bring it about.