I will certainly take care not to give away anything again.
One always suffers for being generous.'"
"Well?" said the Water-rat, after a long pause.
"Well, that is the end," said the Linnet.
"But what became of the Miller?" asked the Water-rat.
"Oh! I really don't know," replied the Linnet; "and I am sure that
I don't care."
"It is quite evident then that you have no sympathy in your
nature," said the Water-rat.
"I am afraid you don't quite see the moral of the story," remarked
the Linnet.
"The what?" screamed the Water-rat.
"The moral."
"Do you mean to say that the story has a moral?"
"Certainly," said the Linnet.
"Well, really," said the Water-rat, in a very angry manner, "I
think you should have told me that before you began. If you had
done so, I certainly would not have listened to you; in fact, I
should have said 'Pooh,' like the critic. However, I can say it
now"; so he shouted out "Pooh" at the top of his voice, gave a
whisk with his tail, and went back into his hole.
"And how do you like the Water-rat?" asked the Duck, who came
paddling up some minutes afterwards.
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