Mr. Crow looked up quickly. 97
“What’s that you say?” he exclaimed.
“The four-armed man!” Jolly Robin repeated.
“Is that a joke?” Mr. Crow asked. He was inclined to be suspicious, because he always disliked having tricks played upon him. “I’ve heard of—and seen—a two-headed calf,” he remarked. “But a four-armed man is a little too much for me to believe in, unless I behold him with my own eyes.”
Jolly Robin laughed.
“It’s no joke at all!” he declared.
“Then what are you laughing at?” Mr. Crow inquired severely.
“Nothing!” Jolly Robin answered. “It’s just a habit of mine to laugh.”
“Very well!” said Mr. Crow. “I accept your apology. But please don’t do it again.... And now,” he added, “where, pray, is this wonderful four-armed man?” 98
“In the barnyard!” Jolly Robin informed him. “I’ve often seen him lately, walking between the house and the barn. He looks a good deal like the hired-man. But of course it can’t be he, for the hired-man—as you yourself know—has but two arms.”