A village. The miller stands before his house, whistling to a blackbird who sits in a cage. The miller’s wife comes out the house and teases her husband. He chases her and they embrace.

The couple go to the well to draw water. While the miller is busy at the well, a dandy passes by and blows kisses to his wife/ who responds flirtatiously. The miller looks up and sees this exchange and chases the dandy off. He isn’t angry with his wife. He is delighted that other men find her a beautiful as he does. They are very much in love.

Now a governor of the province, the corregidor. Enters with an escort. A doddering old fool, he looks absurd in his finery among the simple folk of the village. He wears a three-cornered hat, symbol of his class and position.

Almost immediately, the corregidor eyes the miller’s wife and decides that she must be his. The miller’s wife is polite to him, but no more. He passes on. Nothing that his wife ia getting all the attention, the miller decides that he’d better give another girl some favor. He playfully flirts with one of the lovely girls of the village. Now that both husband and wife have cause to be jealous, they are amused at each other and embrace.

The miller goes into the house. His wife, remaining outside, dances a brilliant fandango. The corregidor as come back and secretly watches her. Soon he approaches her and tries to make advances. The women eludes him and flees. The old man, however, purses her. The miller has watched this scene from inside the house and runs out to help his wife. The corregidor can run no more and falls to the ground exhausted. The miller and his wife pick him up, dust him off, and try to act as if it were an accident, but the corregidor, furious with them, suggests that this is only the beginning of what they may expect of him. The couple dance together.

Evening falls. The village come to the miller’s house to join in a festival with the happy couple. The miller gives them vine and then dances alone a farruca, which everyone applauds. The escorts of the corregidor enter. The men arrest the miller and take him off.

Abandoned by her friends, the miller’s wife is alone.

The corregidor is back again, seeking her favor now with real determination. The miller’s wife throws him to the ground as he clumsily holds her. He rises with difficulty and pursues her to the village bridge, which crosses a running stream. On the bridge, the corregidor again attempts to embrace the girl. In the process of pushing him away, the miller’s wife pushes him off the bridge into the stream. She laughs at him but helps the corregidor out of the water. But the old fool takes up the chase again. The miller’s wife takes a gun from the house and, threatening the corregidor with buckshot, flees over the bridge away from the village. The corregidor stands in front of the miller’s house alone, his clothes still dripping from the dunking he got in the stream. He takes off his outer garments and his three-cornered hat, lays them out to dry, and goes into the house to sleep. Dawn comes. The miller has escaped the corregidor’s henchmen and returns home. In front of his house, he sees the old fool’s clothes and hat! Than he observes the corregidor himself, walking around in one of his own nightshirts! The miller decides there is only one thing to do. He will pursue the corregidor’s wife, who is also young and beautiful! One the walls of his house he draw a caricature of the corregidor and leaves.

Now the poor corregidor is attacked by his own soldiers, who don’t recognize him in the miller’s nightshirt. He curses them, and the village folk come to see what the trouble is. The miller and his wife who have found each other outside the town come in. Their friends are told what the corregidor has tried to do, and in anger all people rise up against the governor and his cohorts. The intruders are routed, and all dance triumphantly, led by the miller and his wife. A dummy representing the defeater corregidor is thrown higher and higher into the air by the crowd.

The main scene of the ballet set in “Tortonis”, a famous cafe in Paris during the Second Empire. In the evening there are meeting all members of society – high class aristocrats, high society-ladies and common Flower girl, also guests of the capital and professional cancan-dancers. In the atmosphere of light flirt, fun and rivalry for the fairy Glove Seller attention includes visiting Peruvian, carrying two carpetbags, full of jewelling, with the intention of conquering Paris. But for him started a quarrel which involves all the customers. After the order was set up again, professional dances happy all customers with high light cancan. In the end of the evening over the famous “Barkarole” music, all customers pares and groups leaving cafe, and the light sadness follow them, leaving alone the Peruvian in searching of fresh adventures.