Blue Buttons the Scarecrow

illustrated by Wendy Roberts

The farmer's wife got her sewing box down from the closet shelf. It was time to make a new scarecrow. During the planting season, her husband had purchased twenty acres of land from a neighbor and planted corn there. A scarecrow was now needed to keep wild birds and animals from eating the growing ears.

The farmer's wife looked through the pile of old clothes she kept in a box in the bottom of the closet and found a pair of the farmer's worn blue jeans and an old red coat of hers. They would do nicely, she thought with a smile.

From a scrap of linen she sewed a head. Next, she fashioned a nose and a mouth out of brown wool. Finally, she took two large blue, plastic buttons and sewed them onto the face to look like eyes. After she knotted the thread and snipped the excess with her scissors, she gathered all the parts of the scarecrow and carried them out to the new field.

When the scarecrow was stuffed and placed on a pole in the middle of the cornfield, the farmer's wife pinned an old felt hat upon his head.

"Every good scarecrow needs a hat," she said with a laugh. "And he needs a name, too. But what should I call you?"

She stared at the scarecrow for several minutes. It seemed to be looking back at her with its blue button eyes.

"That's it!" she decided. "I'll call you Blue Buttons."

When the farmer's wife returned to the house, Blue Buttons found himself alone in the cornfield. He looked out over the growing stalks and was sad. He wished he had someone to talk to so that he wouldn't feel so lonely.

Later that night, an owl flew over the cornfield. He stopped in mid-flight when he noticed the new scarecrow.

"Who are you?" the owl asked.

"I'm Blue Buttons the Scarecrow. Who are you?"

"I'm a wise old owl," the bird replied.

"What makes you so wise?" the scarecrow asked.

The owl told the scarecrow of all the wondrous things he had seen while flying through the night. He described the sight of a full moon shining on the water of a nearby lake and of tall trees that stayed green year-round. He told of the lighted windows in the farmer's house glowing in the darkness and wisps of curling smoke coming from the chimney.

Blue Buttons enjoyed the owl's stories so much that he begged the owl to return the following night.

The next morning the scarecrow met a family of field mice who were searching for breakfast. They were surprised to see a tall man of straw standing high above the growing stalks.

"Who are you?" Papa Field Mouse asked.

"I'm Blue Buttons the Scarecrow," he replied. "Who are you?"

"I'm Papa Field Mouse, and this is my family. I've seen a good many things in this field, but I've never seen you before."

At Blue Button's urging, Papa Field Mouse spoke of the anthills that were hidden beneath the growing stalks. His wife described the puddles that formed after the rain and the mud that hardened and cracked when it dried in the sun. Their children told of the many insects that made their home in the field.

Blue Buttons enjoyed the field mice's stories so much that he begged them to come back the following morning.

Later that day when the sun began its journey west, a pair of crows flew into the field to admire the farmer's cornstalks. They were frightened at the sight of Blue Buttons and wanted to fly away.

"Wait!" the scarecrow cried. "Please come back."

The crows, although still afraid of the straw man, returned. They were curious. No scarecrow had ever been friendly to them before. On the contrary, scarecrows had always tried to chase them away.

"Who are you?" the smaller crow asked timidly.

"I'm Blue Buttons the Scarecrow. Who are you?"

"I'm Sister Crow, and this is my brother. Why do you want us to stay?"

"Last night I met a wise old owl, and he told me of all the wondrous things he saw by night. And this morning I met a family of field mice, and they told me about the fascinating things they saw on the ground beneath the cornstalks. Now I'd like to know what you see when you fly above the fields."

The crows, trusting Blue Buttons not to hurt them, perched on the outstretched sleeve of the scarecrow's red jacket. Sister Crow told him about the cows in the pasture and the chickens in the coops. Her brother described the apple trees in the orchard and the sailboats that glided on the lake.

Blue Buttons enjoyed the crows' stories so much that he begged them to come back the following afternoon.

* * *

Throughout the growing season, Blue Buttons enjoyed the company of the owl, the field mice and the crows. Before he knew it, though, it was harvest time. The farmer collected the ears of corn and cut down the dried stalks.

Blue Buttons was then pulled out of the ground and placed in a corner of the barn where all the scarecrows were kept during the winter.

Blue Buttons, the youngest of the group, was excited about making more friends. He was eager to hear the stories his fellow scarecrows would tell.

"Who are you?" asked Corduroy, the oldest and most torn and faded of the straw men.

"I'm Blue Buttons, and I have wonderful stories to share with you."

"Stories?" asked Carrot Top, a scarecrow with hair made of bright orange wool. "What kind of stories?"

"Ones I've heard from my friends: the owl, the field mice and the crows."

The other scarecrows gasped with horror. The very idea of a scarecrow being friends with such creatures was unheard of!

"You're a scarecrow," Corduroy cried. "That means you're supposed to scare crows. Get it?"

"But the crows are my friends," Blue Buttons protested. "I have learned so much from them."

"They are not your kind," Carrot Top pointed out. "We are."

Patches, so named for the multicolored patches on the knees of his jeans, spoke next. "We were made by the farmer and his wife, and we must do what they ask. There is only one proper way for a scarecrow to behave, and that is to scare off the crows and other animals that might destroy the farmer's crop."

"But the crows don't eat that much, and the field mice eat even less."

"I think it's disgraceful for a straw man to behave so," Carrot Top cried.

Corduroy and Patches agreed.

"As long as you insist on behaving this way," Corduroy threatened, "you will not be one of us."

The winter months were long and lonely. Blue Buttons missed the owl. He missed the field mice. He missed the crows. He missed hearing all the wonderful stories they told and the interesting things he learned. And now the other scarecrows refused to talk to him. He didn't want to be an outcast. He wanted them to like him. He also didn't want to disappoint the farmer and his wife.

What was he to do? Should he be a good scarecrow and chase away the crows and the field mice? If he did, then the other scarecrows would be his friends, and the farmer and his wife would be proud of him.

"All right," Blue Buttons told Corduroy. "I'll do my best to be a good scarecrow."

"That's my boy," Corduroy said proudly. "You're one of us now."

* * *

Winter's cold eventually turned into warm days of spring. Everywhere on the farm there were signs of new life. When the cornstalks began to grow, the farmer put the scarecrows back at their posts.

On Blue Buttons' first night back in the field, the wise old owl returned.

"I missed you," the owl told the scarecrow. "I can't wait to tell you about the shooting star I saw when you were gone."

"Go away!" Blue Buttons cried. "Go and stay out of the farmer's cornfield."

The wise old owl looked at the scarecrow. "You're just like the others now," he said sadly and then flew away, never to return.

The following morning the family of field mice scampered through the cornfield.

"We missed you," Papa Field Mouse called up to Blue Buttons. "We can't wait to tell you about all the snow that covered the ground while you were away."

"Go! Scat!" cried Blue Buttons. "Go away and stay out of the farmer's cornfield."

Papa Mouse looked at the scarecrow. "You're just like the others now," he said sadly, and then he and his family ran off, never to return.

That afternoon the pair of crows flew into the field and perched on the sleeve of Blue Buttons' red jacket.

"We missed you," Sister Crow said. "We can't wait to tell you about the baby colt that was born while you were gone."

"Shoo! Get out of here," the scarecrow cried. "Go and stay out of the farmer's cornfield."

"Why are you trying to chase us away?" Brother Crow asked. "We're your friends."

"No, you're not. I'm a straw man. I can't be friends with the likes of you. I have to protect the cornfield for the farmer and his wife because they gave me life."

The crows looked at the scarecrow. "You're just like the others now," Sister Crow said sadly, and then she and her brother flew away, never to return.

Blue Buttons was proud of himself. He had behaved as a good scarecrow should. The farmer and his wife would no doubt be pleased. Old Corduroy would be pleased. Patches and Carrot Top would be pleased, too.

Blue Buttons stood his post and stared out over the growing cornstalks. His field was so far away from the barn and far away from the other scarecrows that stood watch at their own posts.

As the sun went down and the night grew dark, Blue Buttons thought about the owl and the shooting star. He thought about the field mice and the snow that had covered the ground. He thought about the crows and the baby colt that had been born during the winter.

He thought about all his old friends and the wondrous stories they would have told him had he not sent them away. Suddenly, he felt terribly sad, and a tear fell from the blue plastic button the farmer's wife had sewn onto his linen face.