"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 miller was talking the mouse and the rat kept a close watch on Puss, Jr. They knew from experience, most likely, that cats are not millers, and although Puss, Jr., with his boots and cap, his clothes and staff, did not resemble an ordinary cat, at the same time he was a cat. So the rat and the mouse kept at a safe distance.
"Tell your little friends," said Puss to the jolly miller, "that I won't hurt a hair of them."
"Mousie," said the miller, leaning over and patting the little mouse, "Sir Cat says he will not harm a hair of your tiny head."
"That's very kind of him," replied the little mouse in a squeaky voice.