diff --git a/lib/jekyll/filters.rb b/lib/jekyll/filters.rb
index 70e93b90e..6efc2e940 100644
--- a/lib/jekyll/filters.rb
+++ b/lib/jekyll/filters.rb
@@ -283,7 +283,12 @@ module Jekyll
 
     def sample(input, num = 1)
       return input unless input.respond_to?(:sample)
-      input.sample(num)
+      sampling = input.sample(num)
+      if num == 1
+        sampling.first
+      else
+        sampling
+      end
     end
 
     # Convert an object into its String representation for debugging
diff --git a/test/test_filters.rb b/test/test_filters.rb
index 5fd9facb8..dc51252e6 100644
--- a/test/test_filters.rb
+++ b/test/test_filters.rb
@@ -397,7 +397,7 @@ class TestFilters < JekyllUnitTest
       should "allow sampling of multiple values (n > 1)" do
         input = %w(hey there bernie)
         @filter.sample(input, 2).each do |val|
-          assert_includes val, input
+          assert_includes input, val
         end
       end
     end