3. Hans Becomes a Bread Merchant

“As part of an experiment you gave a part of the ‘eternal bread,’ or dough, as it is called, to the old fisherman Hans. Hans began to trade this bread among his fellow villagers …”

“It can’t be!” cried the professor.

“Alas, it is. He has not justified your trust. One of the fishermen’s wives could not resist and sent a piece of dough to the neighboring village to her poor, sick mother. The mother’s second daughter, who lives with her, wrote about the miraculous test to her brother in Berlin. And this brother—what a happy accident for us!—serves as a messenger in our editorial office.”

“What an unfortunate accident for me!” the professor spoke softly.

“Thus, our newspaper was the first to learn about the invention, which is destined to turn the world upside down. The news was so stunning that, to be honest, we did not believe the words of our courier and the editors sent me to the place to check everything.”

Any denials were useless. The professor bowed his head.

“Continue.”

“On the spot, I learned, though by some trickery, that everything really is as the messenger said. ‘Eternal bread’ exists.”

Breuer impetuously approached the young man and squeezed his hand tightly.

“Listen,” he said breathlessly, “I beg you, don’t report anything in the papers. The experiment is not over yet, and it cannot be disclosed … This can cause innumerable troubles. I promise, I give you my word, that you will be the first to know about my invention when I find it timely. I will write to you about it myself.”

The young man shook his head with a sympathetic smile on his face.

“Unfortunately, that is not possible, dear professor. There was already an article in the paper. We couldn’t expect such a piece of sensational news to be intercepted by other newspapers!”

“You only want sensationalism,” Breuer said bitterly. “Well, write another note that, when checked on the spot, the rumors turned out to be nonsense.”

“It’s too late now. Other correspondents will come here. However, I will talk to the editor and do my best. But favor for a favor. I would ask you to give me at least a summary of the essence of your invention. Not for immediate publication, but in case this case cannot be extinguished. So that, at least, some details about this invention will appear in our newspaper first.”