Jolly Robin found his wife anxiously awaiting his return.
"Have you chased that Woodpecker person away?" she demanded.
"No, my love," he replied. "I 've made other arrangements. Mr. Woodpecker is working for me now. So of course I don't want to scare him off the farm. He's helping me at the raspberry patch. He's helping me to guard the fruit. In fact I couldn't have come back to speak to you now if it wasn't for him. He's watching the berries for me now."
"Nonsense!" cried Mrs. Robin. "If that Woodpecker person is in the raspberry patch you may be sure he's eating berries as fast as he can."
"Only a few!" Jolly assured her. "There's more than enough for our family and his."
"How do you know that?" she demanded. "Did you count the berries?"
"No!" he replied.
"Go back and count them at once!" she commanded.
"Yes, my love!" Jolly answered.
He really did try to count the berries. But he soon found it to be an impossible task. Reddy Woodpecker ate so many raspberries and carried so many home to his children that Jolly Robin despaired of ever settling upon the correct number.