Scarecrows
As our train slowed on its journey up the valley, a woman sitting opposite remarked to her husband how startlingly life-like was a scare- crow in the field. It was a very fine scarecrow, fat-legged, burly and complete with jacket, trousers and waistcoast of a grey suit, a straw- stuffed head and an old hat. Its arms were stuck out on either side, however, and the single bar of wood that formed their support took away much of the figure's reality. It could deceive a woman in a train for one second, but could it deceive the crows ? The makers of scare- crows see man in his rags, see him fat and bowler-hatted, see him stiff and upright or leaning drunkenly. I imagine that, having built their effigy, they stand at a distance and say, "It looks very real. Might be old so-and-so:: The birds, however, spend a long time watching man at his work. They know him well. The sharp cunning eyes of the crow cannot be deceived by flapping rags and gloved hands. Perhaps it is wrong to point this out. A great deal of enjoyment must be found in making scarecrows, and it is a delight to see them when travelling.
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