diff --git a/lib/puppet/parser/functions/generate.rb b/lib/puppet/parser/functions/generate.rb
index 55161df1a..cf46775ab 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/parser/functions/generate.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/parser/functions/generate.rb
@@ -1,37 +1,33 @@
 # Runs an external command and returns the results
 Puppet::Parser::Functions::newfunction(:generate, :type => :rvalue,
         :doc => "Calls an external command on the Puppet master and returns
         the results of the command.  Any arguments are passed to the external command as
         arguments.  If the generator does not exit with return code of 0,
         the generator is considered to have failed and a parse error is
         thrown.  Generators can only have file separators, alphanumerics, dashes,
         and periods in them.  This function will attempt to protect you from
         malicious generator calls (e.g., those with '..' in them), but it can
         never be entirely safe.  No subshell is used to execute
         generators, so all shell metacharacters are passed directly to
         the generator.") do |args|
 
             unless args[0] =~ /^#{File::SEPARATOR}/
                 raise Puppet::ParseError, "Generators must be fully qualified"
             end
 
             unless args[0] =~ /^[-#{File::SEPARATOR}\w.]+$/
                 raise Puppet::ParseError,
                     "Generators can only contain alphanumerics, file separators, and dashes"
             end
 
             if args[0] =~ /\.\./
                 raise Puppet::ParseError,
                     "Can not use generators with '..' in them."
             end
 
             begin
-                Dir.chdir(File.dirname(args[0])) do
-                    output = Puppet::Util.execute(args)
-                end
+                Dir.chdir(File.dirname(args[0])) { Puppet::Util.execute(args) }
             rescue Puppet::ExecutionFailure => detail
-                raise Puppet::ParseError, "Failed to execute generator %s: %s" %
-                    [args[0], detail]
+                raise Puppet::ParseError, "Failed to execute generator #{args[0]}: #{detail}"
             end
-            output
 end