'"Oh! on no account," cried
little Hans; and he jumped out of bed, and dressed himself, and went up to the
barn.
'He worked there all day long, till
sunset, and at sunset the Miller came to see how he was getting on.
'"Have you mended the hole in the
roof yet, little Hans?" cried the Miller in a cheery voice.
'"It is quite mended," answered
little Hans, coming down the ladder.
'"Ah!" said the Miller,
"there is no work so delightful as the work one does for others."
'"It is certainly a great privilege
to hear you talk," answered little Hans, sitting down and wiping his
forehead, "a very great privilege. But I am afraid I shall never have such
beautiful ideas as you have."
'"Oh! they will come to you,"
said the Miller, "but you must take more pains. At present you have only
the practice of friendship; some day you will have the theory also."
'"Do you really think I shall?"
asked little Hans.
'"I have no doubt of it,"
answered the Miller; "but now that you have mended the roof, you had
better go home and rest, for I want you to drive my sheep to the mountain
to-morrow."
'Poor little Hans was afraid to say
anything to this, and early the next morning the Miller brought his sheep round
to the cottage, and Hans started off with them to the mountain. It took him the
whole day to get there and back; and when he returned he was so tired that he
went off to sleep in his chair, and did not wake up till it was broad daylight.
'"What a delightful time I shall
have in my garden," he said, and he went to work at once.
'But somehow he was never able to look
after his flowers at all, for his friend the Miller was always coming round and
sending him off on long errands, or getting him to help at the mill. Little
Hans was very much distressed at times, as he was afraid his flowers would
think he had forgotten them, but he consoled himself by the reflection that the
Miller was his best friend. "Besides," he used to say, "he is
going to give me his wheelbarrow, and that is an act of pure generosity."
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