"No, sir-ee!" answered the jolly miller, with a jolly laugh. "Haven't you ever heard the song about me? This is the way it goes:
"There was a jolly miller once
Lived on the River Dee;
He worked and sang from morn till night,
No lark so blithe as he.
"And this the burden of his song
Forever used to be:
'I care for nobody! No, not I!
And nobody cares for me!'"
"Doesn't anybody care for you?" asked Puss. "It seems strange, for you are so jolly."
"AREN'T WE GREAT FRIENDS?" ASKED THE MILLER
"Well," answered the miller, "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."