The Scarecrow’s Party

Far outside the town, between the orchards, the woods, and the stream, a scarecrow stood guard in the middle of a field of cabbages. He was a very good scarecrow. All the crows and rabbits kept well away from him and didn’t dare munch on his crops.

But it wasn’t just the wild animals that were afraid of him. The farm animals also avoided him. In fact, no one wanted to go near the scarecrow. After all, they had heard such terrible stories about him!

“He can’t even talk, you know,” cooed the pigeon haughtily. “The marten told me.”

“That doesn’t surprise me. I mean, just look at him! Have you seen what a terrible torn coat and hat he wears?” bleated the sheep, who knew a lot about fashion. Her wool was used to knit wonderful cosy jumpers and socks.

“When one of the cows from our herd looked at him, he scowled at her so nastily that she lost her milk!” mooed the cow.

“Oh no! It would be better if he wasn’t here at all,” clucked the frightened hens, gathering their chicks around them. They didn’t want to let them out of their sight even for a minute.

“It would be best if you all stayed away from that part of the farm,” advised the dog.

The scarecrow was lonely and sad. It was his job to be scary and terrifying, and he did that perfectly. But he didn’t want everyone to be afraid of him all the time. It was just his job! And when he wasn’t scaring animals, he wanted to have friends and have some fun, too. He loved to sing, dance, and tell jokes. But doing all that alone was no fun at all.

“If…