“Yes,” answered the Toy people; “Queen Helen has been rescued, and all due to the Miller of Dee.”
“No,” answered the little Miller, “the honor is not mine; I did not open the gates. They were opened by the little clown. Turn back, my fellow Toy people, this wreath of roses is for Rolie Polie.”
The Sixteenth Chapter.
The bestowing of the Rose Wreath. Also of two surprising Rewards. And of the New Joy that came to the Miller of Dee, and the Toy People.
OLIE POLIE could not understand why the Toy people cheered, and he wondered at their hasty departure. Then he crawled out from behind the bags and went to the door of the mill. There the returning Toy people found him, his clothes powdered white with barley meal and his face full of wonderment.
Well, the end of the matter was just this: Rolie Polie, astride his little donkey and loaded down with garlands of roses, was carried off to the Castle. By his side walked the Miller, now wearing his best clothes, and as happy a little body as there was in all the town. {122}