The Scarecrow

Summary

The story follows a farmer who struggles with robins eating the cherries from his tree before he can harvest them. To solve this problem, he constructs a scarecrow, hoping it will frighten the birds away. Initially, the scarecrow succeeds in scaring the robins, but they soon realize it poses no real threat. The birds grow comfortable with the scarecrow, using it as a perch and nesting place while continuing to feast on the cherries. Despite his efforts, the farmer’s unintended creation becomes a part of the ecosystem he intended to protect, illustrating the futility of the scarecrow and the resourcefulness of the robins. Through this tale, children can learn about problem-solving, perseverance, and the harmony of living beings with their environment.

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Once upon a time, there was a farmer who had a beautiful cherry tree that was always full of thick, juicy cherries. However, every year, the robins would come and eat all the fruit before the farmer could even get to it. So, the farmer wished he could find a way to keep the robins away.

One day, he had an idea. “I’ll make a scarecrow,” he said to himself. “It will be so scary that it will frighten the robins away.” And so, he set out to make the scariest scarecrow he could imagine.

He made a tattered and torn scarecrow with bristling hair and threatening arms. He placed it high up in the cherry tree and waited to see if it would work.

To his surprise, the scarecrow scared away all the birds, including the robins, but not for long. The robins soon realized that the scarecrow was not a threat at all. In fact, it was just a harmless, comical old fellow who never moved, no matter how bad the weather got.

So, the robins decided to make themselves at home in the cherry tree. They sang and worked all day, building their nests in the scarecrow’s pockets and peering and perking in the shady branches.

As the cherries began to ripen, the robins were able to feast on them all day long without any interruptions. They even raised a family in the cherry tree, and nobody thought to look at the scarecrow to see how the robins were able to live there.

In the end, the robins were able to live happily and undisturbed in the cherry tree, all thanks to the harmless old scarecrow.