The Kindest Scarecrow
In the middle of a golden field stood a scarecrow named Barley, and Barley had just one job: to frighten the birds away.
But Barley didn’t want to frighten anyone.
Every morning the little birds would flutter near, and every morning Barley was supposed to wave his straw arms and shout, “Shoo!” But when he looked into their tiny hopeful eyes, he simply couldn’t do it.
“It must be lonely,” Barley thought, “to have nowhere to land and no one to sing to.”
So one day, Barley did something no scarecrow had ever done. He held his straw arms out wide, open and gentle, and he said, “Come. Rest a while. There’s room for everyone.”
The birds could hardly believe it. One landed on his hat. Another on his shoulder. Soon Barley’s whole field was full of birdsong from morning till night.
Now, the farmer worried at first. “That scarecrow lets in all the birds!” But then he noticed something. The happy birds ate up the bugs that nibbled his crops, and they scattered seeds that grew into wildflowers all along the fence.
Barley’s field became the most beautiful, most cheerful field in the whole countryside.
And every evening, as the sun sank low and the birds tucked their heads to sleep in his warm straw arms, Barley stood tall and glad in the fading light.
He was the worst scarecrow in the world — and the very best friend.
The end. 🌾
Talk about it together
- Why didn't Barley want to scare the birds?
- How did being kind make Barley's field happier?
- How could you turn someone lonely into a friend?