you see, it's this way: I am here all
alone all day; there's no room in the mill except for me and the sacks
of corn. It all belongs to me, even the old willow-tree. I let a little
woman who lives quite near here hang the cradle on the limb every
morning. As she goes to work in the village, she puts her baby in the
cradle and the wind rocks it to sleep until she comes back at noon. Then
she goes away again and comes back at evening and takes the cradle home
with her. The baby is very good; that is, it has been so far; but you
can never tell how long a baby will be good."

"That's true of every one," said Puss, with much gravity.

"If it ever starts crying--that is, a long crying spell, she'll have to
get another willow-tree or another baby. I can't be bothered with a
crying baby so close at hand."

"But you haven't answered my question yet," said Puss.

"Oh," replied the miller. "You mean because I care for nobody and nobody
cares for me."

"Yes; I don't quite understand it."

"Come inside and I'll explain it to you," said the miller.

Puss walked inside and sat down on a bag of flour. "All I do is to grind
corn for people," continued the miller, sitting down on a dusty stool.
"They bring their corn in to be ground and then they leave. When they
come back the corn is ready for them,--that is, the flour. They take it
away and I'm left all alone. So what do I do? Well, I make friends with
a little mouse and a big rat that live in the old mill." As he spoke
the little mouse ran out of her hole and sat down by the miller. "We are
great friends, aren't we, mousie?" he said.

The little mouse squeaked, "Yes, Mr. Miller."

Then the big rat came out and sat down by the miller, only on the other
side.

"Aren't we great friends?" asked the miller.

The rat said, "You are the best friend I have." At which the miller
smiled and Puss grinned.

"Animals make good friends," said the miller.

"Yes, indeed," replied Puss, "but rats and mice are so destructive. They
eat your corn."

"Not much," said the miller; "only a little bit."

"We only eat what we need," said the mouse and the rat in chorus.

PUSS, JR., RENDERS A MOTHER AID

Puss, Jr., was very much interested in the jolly miller and his two
small friends, the rat and the mouse. It seemed strange to Puss that a
miller should have two such friends as these. But when he thought it
over he saw there was much reason to the miller's words.

At the time the