ht so," said Bessie Mather, who was cuddled in the
hay close to Eyebright.

"Well, he wasn't! Hans at first thought he would throw the mill away,
it looked so dirty and horrid, but then he thought, 'I might as well
try it. Let me see, what do I want most at this moment? why, my dinner
to be sure. I gave mine to the old man. I'll ask for a goose--roast
goose, with hot buttered rolls and coffee. That's a dinner for a
prince, let alone a tailor like me.'

"So he gave the handle a turn, and said to the mill, 'Little mill,
grind a fat roast goose, open sesame,'--not believing a bit that it
would, you know. And, just think! all of a sudden, the handle began to
fly round as fast as the wind, and, in one second, out of the top came
a beautiful roast goose, all covered with stuffing and gravy. It came
so fast that Hans had to catch hold of its drumsticks and take it in
his hand, there wasn't time to fetch a dish. He was so surprised that
he stood stock-still, staring at the mill with his mouth open, and the
handle went on turning, and another goose began to come out of the
top. Then Hans was frightened, for he thought, 'What shall I do with
two roast geese at once?' and he shouted loudly, 'Little mill, stop
grinding, Abracadabra,' and the mill stopped, and the other goose,
which had only began to come out, you see, doubled itself up, and went
back again into the inside of the mill as fast as it came.

"Then Hans fetched a pitcher, and he said, 'Little mill, grind hot
coffee with cream and sugar,' and immediately a stream of coffee came
pouring out, till the pitcher was full. Then he ground some
_delicious_ rolls and butter, and then he set the mill on his shelf,
and danced about the shop for joy.

"'Hans,' he said, 'your fortune is made.'

"And so it was. Because, you know, if people came and asked, 'How soon
could you make me a coat?' Hans just had to answer, 'Why, to-morrow of
course;' and then, when they were gone, he would go to the mill, and
say, 'Little mill, grind a coat to fit Mr. Jones,' and there it would
be. The coats all fitted splendidly and wore twice as long as other
coats, and all the town said that Hans was the best tailor that ever
was, and they all came to him for things, and he got very rich and
took a big shop. But he was just as kind to poor people as ever, and
the mill did every thing he wanted. Wasn't it nice?"

"I wish there really was a mill like that; I know what I would grind,"
said Romaine.