# big Hugh the Miller — Children’s Stories character guide

> big Hugh the Miller in Children’s Stories by Oscar Wilde.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Miller, the Miller

**First appearance:** 0003-the-devoted-friend

## Snapshot

A rich miller who calls himself Little Hans's devoted friend while taking his flowers, herbs, and fruit, and giving nothing in return but fine speeches about friendship.

## Who they are

Big Hugh the Miller owns a hundred sacks of flour, six milch cows, and a large flock of sheep, yet he never gives Little Hans anything, not even in winter when Hans goes hungry. He leans over the garden wall to pluck nosegays and fill his pockets, declaring that real friends should have everything in common. His self-serving sermons on unselfishness, told to a poor gardener who believes every word, make him the story's chilling portrait of friendship as exploitation.

## In the story

### [The Nightingale and the Rose](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/children_s_stories_se/chapters/the-nightingale-and-the-rose)

Not present in this chapter.

### [The Devoted Friend](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/children_s_stories_se/chapters/the-devoted-friend)

The selfish friend who manipulates Hans with promises of a wheelbarrow, taking advantage of his labor and friendship.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/children_s_stories_se/characters/hugh_miller
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/children_s_stories_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/children_s_stories_se/characters