In a field stood Hector, the scarecrow. He spent the whole day and night standing there on a pole with his arms stretched out. He was supposed to chase away the crows and protect the field.
“How can I do that, when I’m supposed to stand still?” he grumbled, “They could come and sit on my nose and I couldn’t do a thing!”
“What I need is magic!” he thought one day, “Then I could move. But how do I get magic?” he wondered.
It was a moonlit night when an owl came along to the field. He was looking for mice to eat. He sat down on Hector’s head to rest for a while.
“Hey! I am supposed to scare you! What are you doing sitting on me?” demanded Hector.
“Oh, it’s you talking,” said the owl, “Owls don’t scare easy, you know. And you are not a scary scarecrow really.”
“It’s not easy to scare birds if you can’t move,” replied Hector looking sad.
“Is that all?” asked the owl. “Here, let me help you,” he said and began to say some magic words. A little man appeared with a broom.
“Hullo, Norman. This is Hector. Would you please help him move?” requested the owl.
Norman did not talk much. He took the broom and swept it across Hector’s face and arms. Suddenly, Hector found he could move his arms and look around. Then Norman swept the pole on which he stood and Hector found he had two poles for legs!
“Wow! I can walk!” he said gleefully, trying out his new legs. They were a little stiff, but he was delighted.
“You must not let any humans see you,” warned the owl, “So, you will move only at night!”
Now Hector assumed a new pose every night and this really puzzled and frightened off the birds in the daytime. Hector enjoyed himself frightening the birds! They did not come near him now.
Every night Hector went to meet all the other scarecrows. He always made sure that the farmer was in his house asleep and all the lights were out before he began walking around. He told the scarecrows all about the owl and the little man with a broom. They too wished to meet them, but they had to wait till the owl came there on some moonlit night!
