The Four Levels of
Happiness
The Lady of Stavoren
(A Parable about Happiness Level 2)
Nearly 700 years ago, on the west coast of the Dutch province of Friesland, the great trading city of Stavoren sent its merchant ships all over the world and brought back great riches.
The wealthiest person in all of Stavoren was a widow, whose husband had been a successful merchant. When he died, he left her his fleet of trading ships. She was called 'het vrouwtje van Stavoren', which is Dutch for The Lady of Stavoren. Now the Lady was a very smart business woman, and over the years became even richer. And as she grew richer, she also grew prouder and more arrogant. She cared alot about what other people thought of her. In fact, she cared too much.
She wanted the other merchants to know she was a better merchant than they were. She wanted them to know she was wealthier than they were. In fact, she wanted the whole world to know it. So she gave huge parties and invited every one she could think so she could show off her expensive dresses, her costly jewels, her treasures, her fleet of ships, her lovely mansion. When the other merchants began to copy her, she got very annoyed. How dare they copy her! She was furious! She called for her most experiencd sea captain.
"I have a special task for you," she said. "Set sail immediately and find me the most precious thing in the world."
"Of course, my lady," said the captain. "But what is the most precious thing in the world so I can find it and bring it back to you?"
"How should I know?" snapped the Lady of Stavoren. "If I knew what is was, I would already have bought it. Your job is to figure out what the most precious thing in the world is and bring it back to me. I don't care how much it costs, or how long it takes, just get it for me."
"My lady," said the captain, "I don't understand. You have so much, why do you want more?"
"Because I am the best, richest, and most successful merchant that has ever lived -- and I want everyone to know it," she answered. "No one must be better or more important than I am, no one!"
The following day the captain began to prepare his ship for the long voyage ahead. News of the mission quickly spread, in the way that gossip does, and by the time the ship was ready, a large crowd had gathered at the dock to see it set sail.
The Lady of Stavoren was delighted. Everyone was talking about her and wondering what the captain would bring back. She knew the most precious thing in the world, whatever it was, would surely establish her superiority in the city.
Time passed. The days turned into weeks. The weeks became months and there was no sign of the captain's return. And then, more than a year after the ship had sailed away, a cry went out that it had been sighted entering the harbor!
Once again a huge crowd gathered to welcome the ship's return. The Lady of Stavoren put on her finest dress to meet her captain when the ship docked. As she went down to the harbor, all the people made way for her, and she knew it was because she was finally going to prove to them that she was the best merchant ever.
"Captain," she called out from the dock, "have you brought me the most precious thing in the world?"
"Indeed, my lady, I have," he said. "I have done as you requested. I visited many lands, met and spoke with many people. Many were the suggestions and much advice did I receive. But none of it seemed to me to be the most precious thing in the world. There were several times when I was on the point of giving up the search. Then suddenly I realized what it was!"
"Yes, yes!' said the Lady of Stavoren with some impatience. "And have you brought it?"
"I have my lady, indeed I have!"
"Well, and what is it?"
"Wheat, said the captain. "I have brought a cargo of wheat."
"Wheat? You've brought me wheat?" The Lady of Stavoren nearly choked with rage. "Wheat can be found anywhere. You have travelled all over the world and the most precious thing you could bring back to me was wheat?"
"Yes, my lady. What could be more precious than wheat? Without bread, the world would starve!" said the captain.
The lady heard one or two snickers of laughter from the people in the crowd. She couldn't believe it. Were they laughing at her? At the most important person in all of Stavoren -- in fact, in all of the province of Friesland? That was unbearable.
"This wheat is mine and I can do anything I want with it. I want you to dump it into the sea! Now!"
The captain couldn't believe his ears. "But there is enough grain here to feed all the people in the province. Why not give it to them?"
"You dare to question me? The wheat is mine. I paid for it, just like I pay your salary. Throw it all into the sea and get out of my sight."
The captain himself was now angry. "Cast off!" he shouted to his crew and the crowd watched as the ship slowly moved away from the dock. The vessel sailed to the mouth of the harbor where the captain ordered his crew to shovel the grain overboard into the sea. Once done, the ship sailed away, never to return.
Later that year, the wheat that the Lady of Stavoren had ordered to be tossed into the sea began to grow. The wheat rose from the bottom of the sea like a forest, catching up mud, sand, weeds and other debris. By and by a sandbank (known to this day as 'The Lady's Sand') rose under waves which stopped the ships from entering the port of Stavoren. With the harbor clogged, the rich merchants, including the Lady of Stavoren, were unable to trade and went out of business. The pride and arrogance of the Lady of Stavoren had ruined the entire city.
- Based on a Dutch folktale.
Life Principles Lesson: Doing well at things, whether in sports, school work, or other activities, is wonderful. God wants us to use the talents He gave us. Doing things well makes us feel better about ourselves. It can make us happy for a while. But if we think we can only be happy if we're better than everyone else, we're always going to be competing against other people. We're always going to feel that we have to win. And we're going to get jealous of other people when they do something better than we do. We're going to want to make sure everyone knows that we're better than they are. Just like the Lady of Stavoren. That's the problem with Happiness Level 2 -- it doesn't make us happy for very long because we're going to get jealous of other people, including our family and friends. So there must be another, better kind of happiness, don't you think?
Go to our Learn About It section to find out about the other types of happiness.