"Why did you not choose some of the diamonds and gold?" cried his wife, and she scolded Hans roundly, because he had taken only flowers and seeds.
Hans made no reply, but he went to the fields and plowed the ground. Then he sowed carefully the seeds that the queen had given him.
The weeks passed by. Tiny green leaves began to show above the ground. The plants grew taller and taller, and then the blue flowers began to appear.
The flowers were so beautiful that even the angry wife was pleased. She had never seen anything like them.
Hans watched his fields day and night. One moonlight night, he saw the lovely queen of the Blue Grotto walking about among the flowers, with her maidens. They seemed to be guarding the blossoms.
At last the flowers had withered, and the seeds were ripe. Then the queen of the Blue Grotto appeared at the cottage door.
The queen of the Blue Grotto said, "I am Queen Hulda. I have come to teach you how to spin and weave."
"The blue flowers that your husband chose were the wonderful flax," added the queen. "I love it very much."
Queen Hulda taught Hans and his wife how to spin and weave linen cloth.
Many people bought the linen and the flax seeds, so that Hans and his wife became very rich.