Jolly ’s cousin, the , seemed much disappointed because Jolly did not weep after hearing the beautiful, sad song. But no matter how mournful a song might be, Jolly Robin could no more have shed tears over it than a fish could have. Naturally, a fish never weeps, because it would be a silly thing to do. Surrounded by water as he is, a fish could never see his own tears. And so all the weeping he might do would be merely wasted.  
Not wanting to hurt his cousin’s feelings, Jolly Robin said that he would try to weep after he went home. And that 70made the Hermit feel happier once more.
 
“Perhaps you’d like to see our eggs?” he suggested.
 
And since Jolly Robin said he would be delighted to look at them, if the Hermit’s wife had no objection, his cousin led him further into the swamp. And there, in a nest of and leaves, lined with pine needles, the Hermit proudly to three greenish blue eggs, somewhat smaller than those in Jolly’s own nest in Farmer Green’s .
 
Jolly Robin stared at the nest in . And pretty soon the Hermit grew quite uncomfortable.
 
“What’s the matter?” he asked. “You seem surprised.”
 
“I certainly am!” Jolly Robin cried. “How do you dare do it?”
 
“Do what?” his cousin inquired uneasily.
 
“Why, you and your wife have built your nest on the ground!”
 
“Well, why shouldn’t we?” the Hermit asked. And he looked the least bit angry.
 
“But everybody knows that the best place for a nest is in a tree,” Jolly Robin told him.
 
His cousin shook his head at that.
 
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