The Scarecrow

When the moon first peaked over the hill and into the cornfield, the scarecrow came alive once again. He loved being alive, as every night he could experience what it was like to get off his post and walk, talk and play. Tonight was going to be a big night for him, and it was one he'd been preparing for a long time. The scarecrow loved to play the violin, and he often sat at the nearby river so that the Misses wouldn't hear him play. Whenever he did, the birds and other small animals gathered around him to listen, and even the fish seemed to take a moment and pause before the current carried them too far down. Tonight, however, he decided he was going to walk to town and play for everyone who came by.

You may be wondering how the scarecrow comes to life, and even wondering how and why he plays the violin. The story to the first is, truthfully, unknown. He'd been coming to life since the day he was placed there 15 years ago. The violin came 12 years ago, as he was wandering around near the house and heard the Misses playing on the porch. He fell in love with the sound of the bow across the strings and came to listen, hidden, every night for two weeks. One night, the Misses had to come in early for a late supper and she left her violin on the porch. The scarecrow, although knowing stealing was wrong, took the violin so that he could make beautiful music himself. Learning to play an instrument well, especially the violin, takes time, but the scarecrow practiced every night for all 12 years.

He'd never been one to be seen in public, or even to be seen by anyone. Every night he would come down from his post, have his fun through the darkness, and return to his post just before the sun came up. This would be a bit of a long journey, so he needn't waste time. He came down from his post the moment he could and ran to the rock he hid the violin under to protect it from view, as well as the elements. With instrument in hand, he stepped out of the field and onto the road and began his walk into town. Traffic was slow tonight, plus he didn't look as out-of-the-ordinary as you might expect. While a scarecrow, he was well made and looked more like a tall, gangly man in a costume than a bundle of hay.

He got there much earlier than he expected, as a man drove by, saw him walking and offered him some help. The scarecrow nodded, too nervous to speak at first, and got into the car. After a minute of silence, the man spoke and asked the scarecrow what he was doing, to which the scarecrow replied truthfully, "I'm going into town to play my violin for the people. I want to make them happy."

"That's pretty neat," The man replied, "But I don't know how much attention you'll get. People in town tend to be too focused on other things and they're not truly happy a lot of the time."

"Well, if I can make at least one person happy, my time will be worth it." The scarecrow replied, content.

When he did get into town and the man dropped him off on a corner, he was surprised by what he saw. The moon was directly above him, and he was surrounded by tall buildings made of stone. There wasn't a single tree or anything green in sight. People were walking all around him, most of which didn't pay attention to the tall, long-limb scarecrow clutching a violin, and those that did only gave him a glance before continuing. After a moment of taking in everything, he realized he was nervous and was scared to perform for so many people. Nonetheless, he swallowed his nerves, lifted his violin as well as his spirits, and began to play, drawing the bow across the strings.

The sounds of his violin stretched all the way down the square, and his music floated through the air. Realizing he was still nervous, he closed his eyes so that he could only focus on the music instead of the people around him. After a minute or so, he calmed down and began to really play. He was done warming up and lovely, lively music began to pour out from the instrument. He danced lightly to his own song, happy with himself. After a little bit of this he opened his eyes and was shocked to see tens-no, at least 100-people gathered around him, smiling and moving along to the music. He panicked and stopped, growing scared and nervous once more. The people looked disappointed and began to slowly disperse before a young boy came up, tugged at the scarecrows overalls, and asked him to keep playing. Unable to say no, the scarecrow picked his violin back up and began to play once more for the boy, sounding even better than before. The people came all around him again, but the scarecrow kept his eyes on the boy who encouraged him. Enjoying what someone does and keeping silent is the same is not enjoying it at all. Letting someone know you want them to keep on and that you enjoy them, no matter how you do it, is what inspires them. The scarecrow played for the boy, the crowd and the moon high above him for hours before making his way back home. He'd be back eventually, and he couldn't wait until tomorrow night.