轮船从神户港开往北海道，当驶出濑户内海到了志摩海面时，聚集在甲板上的人群中，有位衣着华丽、引人注目、年近四十的高贵夫人。有一个老女佣和一个侍女陪伴在她身边。
离贵夫人不远，有个四十岁左右的穷人，他也引人注意：他带着三个孩子，最大的七八岁。孩子们看上去个个聪明可爱，可是每个孩子的衣裳都污迹斑斑。
不知为什么，高贵夫人总看着这父子们。后来，她在老女佣耳边嘀咕了一阵，女佣就走到那个穷人身旁搭讪起来：“孩子多。真快乐啊！”
“哪里的话，老实说，我还有一个吃奶的孩子。穷人孩子多了更苦。不怕您笑话，我们夫妻已没法子养育这四个孩子了！但又舍不得抛弃他们。这不，现在就是为了孩子们，一家六口去北海道找工作啊。”
“我倒有件事和你商量，我家主人是北海道函馆的大富翁，年过四十，可是没有孩子。夫人让我跟你商量，是否能从你的孩子当中领养一个做她家的后嗣？如果行，会给你们一笔钱作酬谢。”
“那可是求之不得啊！可我还是和孩子的母亲商量商量再决定。”
傍晚，轮船驶进相模滩时，那个男人和妻子带着大儿子来到夫人的舱房。
“请您收下这小家伙吧“
夫妻俩收下了钱，流着眼泪离开了夫人舱房。
第二天清晨，当船驶过房总半岛，父亲拉着五岁的二儿子出现在贵夫人的舱房。
“昨晚，我们仔细地考虑了好久，不管家里多穷，我们也该留着大儿子继承家业，把长子送人，不管怎么说是不合适的。如果允许，我们想用二儿子换回大儿子！”
“完全可以“。贵夫人愉快地回答。
这天傍晚，母亲又领着三岁的女儿到了贵夫人舱内，很难为情地说：
“按理说我们不该再给您添麻烦了。我二儿子的长相、嗓音极像死去的婆婆。把他送给您，总觉得像是抛弃了婆婆似的，实在太对不起我丈夫了。再说，孩子五岁了，也开始记事了。他已经懂得是我们抛弃他的。这太可怜了。如果您允许，我想用女儿换回他.。”
贵夫人一听是想用女孩换回男孩，稍有点不高兴，看见母亲难过的样子，也只好同意了。
第三天上午，轮船快接近北海道的时候，夫妻俩又出现在贵夫人的卧舱里，什么话还没说就放声大哭。
“你们怎么了？”贵夫人问了好几遍。
父亲抽泣地说：“对不起。昨晚我们一夜没合眼，女儿太小了，真舍不得她。把不懂事的孩子送给别人，我们做父母的心太残酷了。我们愿意把钱还给您。请您把孩子还给我们。与其把孩子送给别人，还不如全家一起挨饿……”
贵夫人听着流下同情的泪：
“都是我不好。我虽没有孩子，可理解做父母的心。我真羡慕你们。孩子应该还给你们，可这钱要请你们收下，是对你们父母心的酬谢。
A ship sailed from Kobe Port to Hokkaido. When it sailed out of the Seto Inland Sea to the Shima Sea, among the crowd gathered on the deck, there was a gorgeous, eye-catching lady who was nearly forty years old. An old maid and a young maid accompanied her.
Not far from the noble lady, there is a poor man who is about forty years old, and he is also noticeable: he has three children, the oldest being seven or eight years old. The children look smart and cute, but every child's clothes are stained.
For some reason, the noble lady always looked at the father and children. Later, she whispered to the old maid's ear for a while, and the maid walked to the poor man to start a conversation:
"There are so many children. How happy!"
"Well, to be honest, I still have a child who is breastfeeding. The poor have more children and more suffering. I am not afraid of your jokes, our husband and wife can no longer raise these four children! But they are reluctant to abandon them. No, it is now For the children, a family of six went to Hokkaido to find a job."
"I have something to discuss with you. My owner is a rich man in Hakodate, Hokkaido. He is over forty but has no children. Madam asked me to discuss with you whether I can adopt one of your children as an heir to her family? If it works, we will give you a sum of money as a reward."
"That's something I can't ask for! But I'll discuss it with the child's mother before making a decision."
In the evening, when the ship sailed into Sagami Beach, the man and his wife came to the noble lady's cabin with the eldest son.
"Please accept this little guy!"
The couple accepted the money and left the lady's cabin in tears.
In the early morning of the next day, when the ship passed the Boso Peninsula, the father took his five-year-old second son and appeared in the cabin of the noble lady.
"Last night, we thought about it for a long time. No matter how poor the family is, we should keep the eldest son to inherit the family business, and it is inappropriate anyway to give away the eldest son. If allowed, we want to exchange him with the second son. "
"absolutely okay". The lady answered happily.
That evening, the mother took her three-year-old daughter to the cabin of the noble lady again, and said embarrassingly:
"It stands to reason that we shouldn't trouble you anymore. My second son looks and voices very much like my dead mother-in-law. Giving him to you always feels like abandoning mother-in-law, I will be so sorry for my husband. The child is five years old and has started to remember things. He already understands that we abandoned him. This is so pathetic. If you allow me, I want to exchange for him with my daughter ..."
When the noble lady heard that she wanted to exchange a girl for a boy, she was a little unhappy. Seeing her mother's sadness, she had to agree.
On the morning of the third day, when the ship was approaching Hokkaido, the couple appeared in the cabin of the noble lady again, crying loudly before saying anything.
"What's the matter with you?" The lady asked several times.
The father sobbed and said, "I'm sorry. We didn't close our eyes all of the last night. My daughter is too young and I really can't bear this. It is too cruel for us as parents to give our ignorant children to others. We are willing to return the money to you. Please, you return the child to us. Instead of giving the child to someone else, it is better to starve the whole family together..."
The lady shed tears of sympathy as she listened:
"It's all bad for me. Although I don't have children, I can understand the heart of being a parent. I really envy you. The children should be returned to you, but I have to ask you to accept the money. It is a reward to your parents. "