The captain of a ship and a merchant were friends. The merchant had a young son, who wanted to become a sailor, so the captain took him for voyages in his ship.
One day, when the captain had returned from a voyage with a lot of money, the merchant told him that the price of iron had fallen, and made the suggestion that he should buy some with his money. 'I'll keep it in my storehouses for you until you return from your next voyage,' said the merchant, 'and perhaps the price of iron will go up and you will be able to sell it and get more money.'
But while the captain was away, the price of iron went up very high, so the merchant sold it and kept the money. When the captain came back, his false friend told him that he was very sorry but the rats in his storehouses had eaten all the iron.
The captain knew that his friend was telling lies, but he stayed calm and said, 'I knew that you have had trouble with rats in your storehouses recently.'
After a few days, the captain started another voyage, and when he reached a country a long way from his home, he left the merchant's son there. When he returned home at the end of his voyage, he said to the merchant, 'I am very sorry, but during our voyage a big bird came down and carried your son away.'
The merchant was very angry and said, 'Birds cannot carry boys!' 'And rats cannot eat iron,' answered the captain. The merchant took the captain to a judge, who said, 'The merchant must give the captain the money which he got when he sold the iron, and then the captain must bring the merchant's son back to him.'