"WELL, well, well!" cried Puss, Junior, to himself, as he pulled in his
Good Gray Horse after leaving the little red schoolhouse far behind. "It
was lucky for me that Georgy Porgy happened to come my way. Otherwise,
how would I have been able to return the bicycle to the innkeeper?" And
after that he walked his horse until he came to a stream, on the banks
of which stood an old mill. The mill pond was rimmed with overhanging
willow trees, and the water trickled over the dam with a soft, gurgling
noise. Through the sluiceway the water ran in a swift stream, turning
the old wheel around and around.
Puss dismounted, and after his horse had taken a drink he cropped the
fresh green grass, while Puss lay down in the shade.
"Margaret wrote a letter,
Sealed it with her finger,
Threw it in the dam
For the dusty miller.
Dusty was his coat,
Dusty was the siller,
Dusty was the kiss
From the dusty miller.
If I had my pockets
Full of gold and siller,
I would give it all
To my dusty miller."
[Illustration]
Goodness me! Puss must have fallen asleep in the shade of the old willow
tree. It was a sleepy place, and the water trickling over the dam made
one dream of silver fishes! Puss rubbed his eyes and listened:
"If I had my pockets
Full of gold and siller,
I would give it all
To my dusty miller."
"Would you really?" asked Puss, looking up at a pretty girl leaning
against a tree close by. It was she who had sung this little song, you
see.
"Oh, dear me! I thought I was all alone," she sighed.
"So did I," said Puss, "until you woke me."
"Were you asleep?" asked the pretty girl.
"Asleep and dreaming," answered our small hero.
"So was I--I mean I was dreaming," said the pretty girl, in a low voice.
"Yonder stands my Good Gray Horse. Would you like to ride with me?"
asked Puss.
"Yes, indeed," replied the girl, quickly. "Take me for a jolly gallop."
And the next minute she and Puss, Junior, were racing down the road.