diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/property/NullReturn.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/property/NullReturn.java
index 0762d86a8..067aa9f16 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/property/NullReturn.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/property/NullReturn.java
@@ -33,6 +33,6 @@ public final class NullReturn {
      * {@inheritDoc}
      */
     public String toString() {
-        return String.valueOf(null);
+        return "null";
     }
 }