"Ihave no time for gossipping," mumbled Gaffer Grebe, with his mouth fullof building material. "It isn't gossipping! it's thirst for knowledge,"said Robin. Gaffer Grebe didn't trouble himself to answer. He flappedhis wings very loudly and aimed some of the wet water-weeds at thestranger.
Illustration: Gaffer Grebe was collecting wet water-weeds.
"Great rude ugly thing!" said Robin to himself as he made his waytowards another noise. It did seem very strange that anyone sobeautiful, so clever and brave as he, should be treated like a littlestreet-urchin and ordered off. He went sulkily along the edge of thebroad; and Bill the Weasel followed him all the way.
Illustration: The Battle of the Beaks.
Then he came upon a fearfully exciting scene. Robin Ruff and RichardRuff were fighting together furiously, just like Tweedledum andTweedledee. For they were so exactly alike that he couldn't tell whichwas which: only the magnificent frill around Robin Ruff's neck was aslightly different colour from the magnificent frill round the neck ofRichard Ruff. They had worn off all the grass underfoot with fighting,but there were plenty of scraps of feather flying about. And littleMiss Reeve stood by watching them. "Most unladylike of her!" thoughtRobin. "Why doesn't she try and make peace?" So he boldly edged in andcalled out, "Oh, I say, you fellows! this is coming it a =leetle= toostrong. Stop! I tell you, stop!" Then they turned upon him with flamingeyes and slashing beaks, and he had to scramble away as best he could.It never does to interfere in a fight between friends. They would muchrather fight you than each other. Robin just escaped in time. But Billthe Weasel was so close behind them that he nearly got skewered by thebeaks of the two Ruffs. And at this moment Hob, the Marsh Harrier,caught sight of Robin from where he was hovering, high in the air above.
Illustration: Scraps of feather flying about.
Illustration: Hob, the Marsh Harrier, was hovering high in the airabove.
Meanwhile it was getting dark, and more extraordinary noises were to beheard,--more than ever. The Nooper Swans and the Brent Geese, and othermysterious families whom Robin did not know, were calling overheadcontinually, and there was a constant boom-boom-boom going on among thereed-beds. Robin was a trifle scary and nervous now; this ramble had hadso many adventures in it. But still he was eaten up by curiosity, and hetried to explore the reed-bed where the boom-boom was. And he pushed hisway between the roots of the bulrushes, and flew a little here andthere, while the sunset gradually faded out of the sky, until he cameto a most wonderful place.
Illustration: The Brent Geese were calling overhead.
But Bill the Weasel was just behind him: and Hob the Marsh Harrier wasabove him in mid-air.
This place was all fenced round with tall bulrushes, and inside youcould see a green marshy spot, with cuckoo flowers and king-cupsgrowing, and Somebody was booming there all alone. Then a beautifulfairy person who was the Water-Lady slid down a bulrush and said, "Youmustn't go in there: trespassers will be prosecuted. No admittance excepton business. That's the law of the broad."
"Why not?" said Robin. "Whose place is it?"
Illustration: A beautiful fairy person slid down a bulrush.
"That," said the Water-Lady, "is the Home of the Last-of-the-Bitterns,and he must never be spoken to by anybody but me. He wants to do all thetalking himself."
"How does he do the boom-boom?" said Robin, wild with curiosity. For hethought he would like to learn how to boom-boom himself. It wouldsilence Mrs. Robin when she scolded him.
But the Water-Lady said, "Sh-s-s-h, go away!" and disappeared inside.She was all in pale pink and gold, like the cuckoo-flowers andking-cups.
Robin wouldn't go away. He suddenly became very obstinate, anddetermined to find out what the Last-of-the-Bitterns looked like. And hesqueezed, and shoved, and slithered between the bulrushes. And he wasjust inside, and just saw the Last-of-the-Bitterns standing there,humped-up and dreadfully old, when three things happened at once.
Bill the Weasel made a grab at his neck, and missed.
Hob the Marsh Harrier dropped upon him from above--but fell by accidentinto the water, owing to the Last-of-the-Bitterns suddenly shifting hisposition.
And the Water-Lady seized Robin in her arms, and flung her pink and goldscarf about him.
"Don't move!" she screamed in a high, thin shrill voice, just like windamong the reeds. "Don't move! Don't speak! Don't wriggle!"
Illustration: The Water-Lady seized Robin in her arms.
Illustration: The Home of the Last-of-the-Bitterns.
"Do these folk know who-who-who I am?" rumbled the Last-of-the Bitterns."Do they suppose there is room-room-room for them in the same place asMe?"
Then the Last-of-the-Bitterns gave Bill a peck which it took him a monthto get over. And he gave Hob another peck, so that he went away very wetand with a headache. And then he boomed a song of victory, so loud thatthe whole broad trembled.
Meanwhile the Water-Lady, with Robin still in her arms, rose up out ofthe reed-beds and flew miles and miles and miles--or so it seemed. Bythis time Robin was quite sure that he was neither very brave nor veryclever. And as to being very beautiful, for once he never thought aboutthat at all. The Water-Lady stopped in the middle of a turnip-field,where the Bunnies were playing by moonlight. And she gave Robin a goodshaking. "Let this be a lesson to you," said she, "to keep yourself toyourself." And she departed.
Illustration: The Bunnies were playing by moonlight.
Then the Bunnies very politely escorted Robin home, which was reallyjust round the corner. He thought he had been hundreds of years away,but it was only half a day. And he expected a terrific lecture fromMrs. Robin, and had made up his mind to promise never to ramble anymore.
Illustration: The Bunnies Politely Escorted him Home.
But Mrs. Robin was so happy that she had nothing in the world but smilesfor him. "Come in, dear," she called to him, all beaming. For the fivelittle Robins were hatched: and they were the finest children ever seen!They were also (so Mrs. Robin said) the most beautiful, the dearest andthe bravest.
As for Robin, he does nothing now from morning to night but look afterthem. They are always hungry, and always saying so. There isn't amoment's time for anything but meal-times. Robin's rambles are over forthe present.
Illustration: Robins Feeding Young.
Transcribers Note
The word leetle which is shown as =leetle= was underlined in the originalbook.
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