said the Miller . '' ` Well , really , ' cried Hans , ` it is very good of you to ask , very good indeed . I am afraid I had rather a hard time of it , but now the spring has come , and I am quite happy , and all my flowers are doing well . ' '' ` We often talked of you during the winter , Hans , ' said the Miller , ` and wondered how you were getting on . ' '' ` That was kind of you , ' said Hans ; ' I was half afraid you had forgotten me . ' '' ` Hans , I am surprised at you , ' said the Miller ; ` friendship never forgets . That is the wonderful thing about it , but I am afraid you do n't understand the poetry of life . How lovely your primroses are looking , by-the-bye '' ! '' ` They are certainly very lovely , ' said Hans , ` and it is a most lucky thing for me that I have so many . I am going to bring them into the market and sell them to the Burgomaster 's daughter , and buy back my wheelbarrow with the money . ' '' ` Buy back your wheelbarrow ? You do n't mean to say you have sold it ? What a very stupid thing to do ' ! '' ` Well , the fact is , ' said Hans , ` that I was obliged to . You see the winter was a very bad time for me , and I really had no money at all to buy bread with . So I first sold the silver buttons off my Sunday coat , and then I sold my silver chain , and then I sold my big pipe , and at last I sold my wheelbarrow . But I am going to buy them all back again now . ' '' ` Hans , ' said the Miller , ' I will give you my wheelbarrow . It is not in very good repair ; indeed , one side is gone , and there is something wrong with the wheel-spokes ; but in spite of that I will give it to you . I know it is very generous of me , and a great many people would think me extremely foolish for parting with it , but I am not like the rest of the world .
I think that generosity is the essence of friendship , and , besides , I have got a new XXXXX for myself .
Burgomaster Hans Miller by-the-bye first kind people primroses wheel-spokes wheelbarrow