As soon as Robin had recovered his breath, he also recovered his curiosity. He set about rambling at once. To begin with, he tracked the noises. The place was full of strange noises. There was an extraordinary bleating, for one thing, which he thought was his old friend Dame Nanny-goat who lived in a field at home. But when he had tracked the bleating right up to where it began, in a tussock of rushes, old Mother Snipe flounced up out of the rushes, and shrieked, "You impertinent little Jackanapes! What are you poking after here?" And she drove him out of the rushes with angry words. But Bill the Weasel followed him all the way.
Bill the Weasel welcomes the Stranger
Then he saw a very odd and remarkable person with a crest. Not the kind you have on note-paper, but a frilly thing on his head. The crested person was very busy diving, and Robin went and waited on the shore till he should come up again. "Could you kindly inform me as to the best way home?" shouted Robin between the dives. The crested person was Gaffer Grebe, who was collecting wet water-weeds to make his floating nest with, for he couldn't endure dry nests that stay still in one place. "I have no time for gossiping," mumbled Gaffer Grebe, with his mouth full of building material. "It isn't gossiping! it's thirst for knowledge," said Robin. Gaffer Grebe didn't trouble himself to answer. He flapped his wings very loudly and aimed some of the wet water-weeds at the stranger.
Gaffer Grebe was collecting wet water-weeds
"Great rude ugly thing!" said Robin to himself as he made his way towards another noise. It did seem very strange that anyone so beautiful, so clever and brave as he, should be treated like a little street-urchin and ordered off. He went sulkily along the edge of the broad; and Bill the Weasel followed him all the way.
The Battle of the Beaks
Then he came upon a fearfully exciting scene. Robin Ruff and Richard Ruff were fighting together furiously, just like Tweedledum and Tweedledee. For they were so exactly alike that he couldn't tell which was which: only the magnificent frill around Robin Ruff's neck was a slightly different colour from the magnificent frill round the neck of Richard Ruff. They had worn off all the grass underfoot with fighting, but there were plenty of scraps of feather flying about. And little Miss Reeve stood by watching them. "Most unladylike of her!" thought Robin. "Why doesn't she try and make peace?" So he boldly edged in and called out, "Oh, I say, you fellows! this is coming it a leetle too strong. Stop! I tell you, stop!" Then they turned upon him with flaming eyes 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 much rather fight you than each other. Robin just escaped in time. But Bill the Weasel was so close behind them that he nearly got skewered by the beaks 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.