Though Jolly was quite bold for his size, he had a cousin who was actually shy. This timid relation of Jolly’s belonged to the Thrush family; and Jolly Robin always of him as “The Hermit,” which was a good name for him, because he never strayed from the depths of the swamp near Black . At least, he stayed there all summer long, until the time came for him to go South.  
If Jolly Robin wanted to see this shy cousin, he had to go into the swamp. For the Hermit never repaid any of Jolly’s calls. He was afraid of Farmer Green and the other people that lived in the . Apple , and gardens and open fields he considered good places to avoid, because he thought them dangerous.
 
“There’s no place to live that’s quite as safe and pleasant as a swamp,” he often remarked. “I have one brother who prefers an , which doesn’t make a bad home. And another brother of mine lives in some bushes near a road. But how he can like such a dwelling-place as that is more than I can understand.”
 
Now, there were two things for which this cousin of Jolly Robin’s was . He was an singer; and he always wore a fine, waistcoat.
 
Jolly always admired the Hermit’s singing. But he didn’t like his spotted waistcoat at all.
 
“That cousin of mine is too much of a dandy,” Jolly remarked to his wife one day. “I’m going to pay him a visit this afternoon. And I shall speak to him about that waistcoat he’s so fond of wearing. It’s well enough for city birds to dress in such finery. But it’s a thing for anybody to wear way up here in the country.”
 
Jolly’s wife told him plainly that he had b............