Seasons passed and the winds blew, the scarecrow's arms would fly from side to side, Because she was odd looking and maybe a little
strange to the farm animals,
That fall, a truck arrived at the farm carrying a beautiful golden filly. The
stallion was drawn to her beauty and charm, which was natural, and his visits
to the scarecrow became less frequent.
She missed him terribly, but his days were now very full courting the young
filly and he was too busy to notice that the hay was starting to fall from the
scarecrows arms and she seemed to lose her joy in life.
The seasons changed and one night the farmer had a huge bonfire to celebrate the harvest. The filly
and stallion had mated and were expecting their first foal in several months.
She was the perfect mate, everyone said, and he agreed. They decided to walk
to
the bonfire to see what the farmers family was doing.
Lo and behold there on the bonfire laid the weird, thin scarecrow, her dress
in flames, her arms gone. The stallion was very upset he tried to pull her
from the fire but the farmer pushed him back. He watched her body burn and
saw the glint from the tiny heart as it melted from the heat.
His mate couldnt understand why he was so upset....."Why are you acting like
this?" she asked?? Its just the old scarecrow, she is of no use any more.
Come let us return to our stalls, and so they did. The next morning the stallion went back to the now cold ashes of the bonfire and with his lips carefully removed the little piece of metal, that use to be the scarecrow's locket.
Time passed, his mate had more foals, all with beautiful coats and long maines.
They had a happy life.
But every now and then, when he would run up in to the hills by himself at
sunset, he would catch a whiff of hay from the fields or a brief scent of roses and think of long ago
when he was younger and shared his dreams with a ragged old scarecrow, and
wonder what would have happened, had he chozen another path in life.
Since she was burned he had no one to talk to the way he did with her, oh he
had many friends and a large family but no one loved him for himself like
that
weird old scarecrow. What if?? He wondered and then turned and walked slowly
home.
It was nestled among rolling green
hills, with a beautiful stream running through it's woods.
The farmer was a wealthy man with a large family,
his farm was the most
prosperous in the surrounding valley.
He grew corn and raised thoroughbreds;
the family helped with the chores each day, exercising and
grooming these beautiful horses,
and tending to the fields of corn
One summer, the corn was growing so well that the farmer decided that they
needed a scarecrow to drive off the birds and assure a bountiful harvest.
The children
begged that he let them make the scarecrow, and he finally agreed
, it didnt
matter what it looked like as long as it did the job.
The children worked hard and finally erected the scarecrow in front of the field of
corn.
..She had a shabby dress, arms of hay and a crooked mouth.
When the
farmer and his wife saw her, they laughed but praised the children for their
effort.
The children had failed to give the
scarecrow eyes,
but they did find a locket shaped like a little heart and put it around her neck..
..During that first summer, there was a heavy rainfall followed by a beautiful rainbow
It
happened that the rainbow touched this little locket and from that moment, the scarecrow came to life... in a special way, of course, only the animals realized this.
She could speak and feel emotions, but could not see, because she had no eyes
He was remarkable,
so strong and beautiful to look at...people came out from the village to see him run in the fields.
she did her job diligently.
they avoided her, but she was content with her lot
in
life.
She was happy to feel the wind move her body and enjoyed the fresh air
and sunshine.
One day she heard a pounding of hooves and people exclaiming how beautiful
a stallion was that ran passed her.
She didnt praise him because she was blind and couldnt appreciate his beauty.
He couldnt understand why she would ignore
him.
...How rude!! he thought.
"Certainly she has heard how magnificent I am!!", he thought
He
ran up and stopped quickly in front of her,
scaring her because she could only
feel the vibrations of his approach.
"Whats wrong with you?
Why dont you speak my name as the others do?
Certainly
you see how wonderful I am.
You must be blind!!"
"I am." she answered in her soft scratchy voice. He was shocked
and then really noticed her face for the first time, that crooked smile and
no
eyes. "Good Grief!! What happened to you??" He asked. "Why nothing , I was made this way, which is fine with me; and see the children even gave
me this locket, it opens but I cant see what's inside...."she responded. "Well",
he
said, "you certainly look silly". "And you are arrogant". she answered.
He was shocked!! No one ever spoke to him like this before, he glanced at her
and then ran off, back to the admiring villagers, where he was comfortable.
Her weird image remained though in his mind.
Each day he would run to her and speak a few words, each time kinder than the first and
then leave. She began to look forward to his short visits,because he seemed
to
have a good heart after all.
She thought she was a good judge of character.
The visits from the stallion became longer and they talked about all sorts of
things. Things that he couldnt discuss with others. They would laugh together, talk about their dreams and ideas;
and over time became the best of friends. One day he even carried a small bouquet of roses in his mouth and gave them to her.
He opened his heart to her and she to him. Granted she was a strange sight,
but
he liked her because she could sense his spirit and share his dreams like
others
couldnt. The others marveled at his beauty but she loved him for himself.
What an odd couple, they would spend days talking, while she worked her arms
to scare the birds.Sometimes he would put her on his back and take her up to the top of a small hill, where he could enjoy the view and she, the feel of the sun on her body of hay. ,
As time past they found themselves falling deeply in
love.They were a perfect couple, weird but perfect in every way.
They became inseperable and were the talk of the barnyard.
He took it up to the top of that small hill, that they used to visit, made a hole in the ground with his hoof ,dropped in the locket, and covered it carefully.
Once again, he gave her a bouquet of wild roses, laying them on the ground, above the melted locket.
At the moment, his heart broke and he grieved for her.
