Isabella recalled that her brother, Robert Burns, was the author and that he was in the habit of telling the tale to entertain the younger members of his family at their farm in Ayrshire, such as herself, Annabella, John and William.

[1][2] Chambers was also the author of the four-volume The Life and Works of Burns published in 1851 and for this work he had been in contact with Isabella between 1847 and 1850,[3] who recalled that Burns, a teenager at the time, composed the story "The Marriage of Robin Redbreast and the Wren" for the entertainment of his young siblings and was in the habit of telling it whilst the family lived at Lochlea Farm near Tarbolton; his father was the tenant of the farm between 1777 and 1784.

[2][1] The story of the 'marriage' is neither a song nor a poem and no copies of it written by Robert Burns are known to have existed and therefore the work does not usually appear in his biographies or in many Burns-related books.

The Saltire Society, a membership organisation which aims to promote the understanding of the culture and heritage of Scotland, have published several editions of 'The Marriage of Robin Redbreast and the Wren' in the form of a chapbook.

[8] The nursery rhyme "The Marriage of Cock Robin and Jenny Wren" is a more recent example[9] however as stated no record of Robert Burns's specific inspiration is known to exist.

And Poussie Baudrons says: "Come here, wee Robin, and I’ll let you see a bonny white ring round my neck."

"[11] So wee Robin flew awa’ till he came to a fail fauld-dike, and there he saw a grey greedy gled (hawk) sitting.

"[12] So wee Robin flew an’ till be came to the cleuch (gorge) o’ a craig and there he saw slee Tod Lowrie (fox) sitting.

And slee Tod Lowrie says: "Come here, wee Robin, and I’ll let ye see a bonny spot on the tap o’ my tail".