Sometimes he thought it was one thing and sometimes another, but when he reached the shipyard he had not decided. He called to the officers and sailors standing there, told them of the woman’s strange order, and said sadly, “But, alas! I know not what it may be. If any among you can tell, let him speak.”
Every one thought a minute, then came a chorus of suggestions. One officer suggested gold, another silver, and another precious stones, but the captain was not sure which was right. He must not decide too quickly, for to make a mistake would be a terrible thing.
Silently listening the sailors stood, for according to the law of the city they must not open their lips until the officers had had their say. Then one of the group, a slender, blue-eyed fellow, who seemed no more than a boy, said, “No, my captain! The most precious thing in the world is neither gold and silver, pearls and diamonds, nor costly laces and velvets. It is wheat, for without it we could have no bread, and without bread we cannot live.”
Some of the officers laughed at this idea, for common sailors were not supposed to know much. But the captain quieted them, saying, “He is right. We will sail away and bring back a cargo of wheat.”
So they sailed out of the harbor, and across the Baltic to Dantzic. There they bought a great cargo of wheat, the largest that had ever been started out to sea, and the captain, delighted with the purchase, turned the ship’s prow back toward Stavoren town.
He could hardly wait to get to his mistress and tell her what a wise and wonderful choice he had made. She frowned when she saw him, displeased that he had returned so soon.
“You must have flown like a pigeon,” she said. “Have you brought me the cargo I ordered?”
“Yes, madame,” he replied, bowing low before her. “I have the finest cargo of wheat that ever went out of a port.”
The woman screamed in anger. “Wheat!” she yelled. “A cargo of wheat! I told you to bring me the most precious thing in the world, and do you mean to say that you have brought a common, cheap thing like wheat?”
The captain was terribly frightened, but he did not regret his selection. He believed in the value of his cargo, and tried to lead the woman to see that he had made a wise purchase.