Yes, that is the adventure that befell the miller. Such a strange
adventure it was that to this day no one has decided whether it really
happened or not. If you say it was all a falsehood, I can answer that
the miller was not a man to tell lies. Then, Gavrilo the workman is
still living at the mill, and though he confesses himself that he was
thoroughly drunk that night, he remembers clearly that the miller
opened the door for him, and that his master’s face was whiter than
flour. And Yankel came back at dawn, and Opanas reached home drunk and
without his boots, so it seems as if the miller could not really have
dreamt it after all.
But then, again, take this: how could it be true, when the whole affair
would have taken a year to happen and yet the miller ran barefoot into
Galya’s cottage the very next morning? A great many people actually saw
him, and wondered why the miller was tearing barefoot across the fields
to visit the girl.
The best plan, I think, is not to look too closely into the story.
Whether it happened or whether it didn’t, I’ll give you a piece of
advice. If you know a miller, or any man who keeps two taverns and who
abuses the Jews and yet fleeces the people like sheep, tell your friend
this story. I recommend it to you; the plan has been tried. Whether he
gives up his business or not, he will at least bring you a mugful of
vodka that, for once, won’t be diluted with water.
There are people, of course, and this too has been found to be true,
who will growl at you like dogs as soon as you tell them the story.
People like them I answer with these words: Grumble and growl as much
as you like, but I give you fair warning: take care the same thing
doesn’t happen to you!
And I say this because, you see, the people of Novokamensk have more
than once seen that very same devil again. Ever since he has had a
taste of the miller, he doesn’t want to go home without some dainty
morsel. So he flies about, peering in every direction like a lost bird.
Therefore, take care, good people, that something evil doesn’t befall
you.
And now, good-bye! If I haven’t told the story to suit your taste,
don’t think ill of me, I’m only a plain man.