“And [he] sailed back over a year
and in and out of weeks
and through a day
and into the night of his very own room
where he found his supper waiting for him
and it was still hot”
“Mickey the Milkman dived down to the bottom singing: ‘I’m in the milk and the milk’s in me. God bless milk and God bless me! Then he swam to the top, pouring milk from his cup into batter below”
“Where the bakers who bake till the dawn so we can have cake in the morn mixed Mickey in batter, chanting: ‘Milk in the batter! Milk in the batter! Stir it! Scrape it! Make it! Bake it!’ and they put that batter up to bake a delicious Mickey-cake.”
″ ‘What’s all the fuss? I’m Mickey the pilot! I get milk the Mickey way!’ And he grabbed the cup as he flew up and up and up and over the top of the milky way in the night kitchen.”
“Did you ever hear of Mickey, how he heard a racket in the night and shouted, ‘Quiet down there!’ and fell through the dark, out his clothes, past the moon & his mama & papa sleeping tight into the light of the night kitchen?”
“…right in the middle of the steaming and the making and the smelling and the baking Mickey poked through and said: ‘I’m not the milk and the milk’s not me! I’m Mickey!’ ”
“So he skipped from the oven & into bread dough all ready to rise in the night kitchen. He kneaded and punched it and pounded and pulled till it looked okay. Then Mickey in dough was just on his way.”