The Scarecrow and the Field Goblins

A story from my book 'Hurryburry and other tales for children' published in 2000.

If Laggy was lazy, there were ample reasons for it. He had worked hard in his young days and now he had three big, strong sons who gave him whatever he wanted. Yet, Laggy took it to his heart whenever his wife, who had an acid tongue, called him an idler or a dreamer. This happened often and was the main reason for which Laggy went on long walks, all by himself, in the endless stretches of paddy fields that surrounded his house.

Laggy’s house was a small, yet snug one that stood on the foot of a round hill. The vast expanses of paddy fields around his house were bordered at the other end by small brown hillocks and dotted here and there with large banyan trees. Laggy spent most of his time sitting under one of these banyan trees and day-dreaming; imagining that he had become an immensely rich man all of a sudden; or that he could fly like the lazy eagles in the sky, slowly going round and round above the fields.

One autumn evening, Laggy’s wife scolded him more severely than usual and he went on a walk farther away from his house than usual. For a long while, he sat on a flat piece of rock that lay under a big tree, listening to the chirping of birds and the regular mournful howling of a distant stray dog that seemed to empathize with him—and of course, dreaming that great things had happened to him.

By the time he felt that he had dreamt enough and stood up to leave, it was quite late. The moon was shining like a silver saucer in the pale blue cloudless sky and a cool breeze was frolicking in the fields, creating small, briskly moving ripples in the lush green fields. Laggy stood wondering how beautiful the world was, and how miserable men’s lives were, in contrast, for which most often they themselves were to be blamed.

As he trudged back home reluctantly, Laggy paused by a scarecrow that stood in the middle of a small patch of field with out-stretched arms, staring vacantly into the fields with a broad beam on his face. He wondered how lucky scarecrows were, the only thing they had to do in life being to stand in the middle of the fields day and night. Waving at the scarecrow, he spoke his thoughts aloud. “How lucky scarecrows are! I wish I were a scarecrow; like you!”

And then, to his utter surprise, the scarecrow actually spoke to him and what was more, spoke sense.

“What an abject plight a man must be in, if he comes to wishing that he were a scarecrow.”

Laggy could hardly believe his ears. “Pray, you are a scarecrow, aren’t you?” he almost shouted at the scarecrow in disbelief, “But I thought I heard you say something…do scarecrows ever speak?”

“I am a scarecrow alright and you did hear me speak” said the scarecrow in a hoarse, grating voice. “Usually scarecrows never speak; but I am an unusual scarecrow, a prince-turned-scarecrow…to be precise. I mean I am a prince under a spell, you see.”

“A prince under a spell?” asked Laggy taking a close look at the scarecrow “But who cast the spell on you and why?”

“Well, that is a strange story,” said the scarecrow pensively, “But do you really want to hear it?”

“Of course,” said Laggy moving closer to the scarecrow, “Every bit of it.”

“I am a prince hailing from a land beyond those hills,” began the scarecrow “About a month ago, on one moonlit night like this, I was out alone, on a long walk. I crossed the hills and went further ahead to reach these fields. It was quite late by the time I turned back. In my hurry to reach home, somewhere here, I trod upon a sleeping green field goblin, I had to be more careful, I reckon. Now, nobody likes to get trampled, you see…the goblin woke up seething with anger and uttered some magic words…and I was instantly transformed into a scarecrow.”

“What a tragic tale!” exclaimed Laggy, “But because you can speak, you could have told your story to someone and asked for help?”

“Well, I can speak only after sunset” said the scarecrow “And to this day, no one has been anywhere near me after sunset. During the day I do find people working in and around these fields; but all of them leave well before sunset. That makes you the first person I have been able to tell my story and thus the first person of whom perhaps, I will venture to seek help.”

“I am at your service, prince!” said Laggy bowing before the scarecrow “Yet no way of rescuing you occurs to me right now; other than meeting that goblin and apologizing to him on your behalf.”

“Well,” said the scarecrow thoughtfully “It is nice to hear that you are willing to help me. But I don’t think that it will work the way you said. For, if you go to that goblin, there is every possibility that he will transform you too into a scarecrow. I have another idea that stands a better chance of success; only that it is fraught with danger and calls for immense courage, resolve, and caution.”

“Go ahead!” Laggy laughed, “I have never been found lacking in these. I might be lazy as they say, but I am tough. In fact, I have an inclination for adventure… I love dangerous missions…especially if they are for a good cause, as it is in this case. Come on! Tell me your idea. Whether it is dangerous or not is not the issue. It must work; that’s all.”

“Good’, said the scarecrow, “Then listen to me carefully. There are, you see, three field goblins that frequent these fields. Apart from the green one that cast the spell on me, there is a red one, and a yellow one. They come from the top of those hills and every night they sit there, under that banyan tree yonder—the one that has grotesquely twisted branches. They carry colored lanterns with them and sit by the light of those lanterns. What they do, I cannot really make out from here, but they spread something like a wooden board and keep looking at it after uttering some strange words and tossing something like coins or dice.”

“They must be practicing magic!” cried Laggy.

“Most likely,” the scarecrow agreed. “Now if you disguise as a scarecrow—for which you can use my attire— and stand still under that tree when the goblins are indulging in their nocturnal activity, I guess the goblins will take you for a real scarecrow and ignore your presence. This way, you can be near enough the goblins to learn a few magic words from them, and perhaps, with luck, you will be able to learn the words that transform scarecrows back to their original forms. But you must be smart enough to deceive them. While you can use my attire to disguise yourself as a scarecrow, you must stand as still as one.”

“What a wonderful idea!” exclaimed Laggy, “I wish my brain worked like yours! In fact I am certain that this plan is bound to succeed. There could be no better one. Well, let me begin the mission. My role begins right now.”

Soon Laggy was taking his dress off the scarecrow while the scarecrow explained to him the dangers of the mission he was about to undertake. He told Laggy that field goblins were mean creatures with sore tempers and what was more, they were powerful magicians.

“If you as much as cough or sneeze as you stand there, you will find yourself in a dreadful pickle,” warned the scarecrow, “Get caught, and you will be done for. Considering that, I feel that you are taking too much of a risk in trying to help me. It is really nice of you to volunteer to help me…but whether you want to try …well think over it twice.”

But Laggy assured the scarecrow that there was no need for any worry about him as he knew quite well to take care of himself. He wore the scarecrow’s trousers and shirt over his own. He also tried the pot the scarecrow had for head and found that it fitted him snugly; he could see quite clearly through the two holes on the pot. By the time he was ready to leave, it was quite late into the night, but there still was bright moonlight, “Which augurs well for the mission,” thought Laggy.

The scarecrow wished him good luck and once again warned him to be careful before Laggy left. Laggy told the scarecrow to cheer up and vowed that he would bring the prince back to his original form that night itself.

Once he reached the place where the goblins would sit, Laggy took a good look around. The banyan tree that the scarecrow had indicated was very large. Laggy felt that there was something eerie about it. Its branches seemed to resemble exotic animals he had seen in a book. The fields in that part were of a brighter green than elsewhere. The hills from which the goblins would come seemed quite high and steep, now that he was very near them. The top of the hills were hazy, shrouded in a mantle of mist. Laggy felt a bit restless and excited as he waited.

There was complete silence, but for the intermittent song of some blissful night bird. In the moonlight, the sketches of paddy fields, with the distant hills bordering them silhouetted against the night sky and enveloped in a mantle of mist presented a mysterious, yet enchanting, spectacle. Laggy felt that the poets were right in comparing moonlight to the sheen of silver.

After a while, Laggy reckoned that it was time for the goblins to arrive. He wore the pot over his head, stretched out his arms, and stood still. Disguising as a scarecrow was, he felt, easier than he had thought. However, he told himself not to fall asleep; for Laggy sometimes fell asleep even while he stood.

All of a sudden, Laggy espied three small lights on the top of the hills moving down slowly one after the other. One of the lights was red, the one behind it green, and the third one, yellow. The lights descended steadily and seemed to gather pace as they approached. From the pattern of their movement, Laggy guessed that the lights were coming down a meandering path; for sometimes they changed direction and sometimes disappeared altogether, only to reappear at a closer location. After a while, the lights were near enough for Laggy to make out that these were lights from colored lanterns that three small men were carrying on their heads. And soon, Laggy could see the field goblins themselves.

Laggy was struck with wonder that such strange creatures actually existed in this world.

Each of the goblins was just about a couple of feet in height. They were of different colors. The red field goblin was of a vine red color. He had thick locks of rough unkempt hair that gave him a wild, haggard look. With one hand he balanced on his head, a lantern that emitted red light. In the other hand, he held a small square-shaped board, apparently a wooden board. The green goblin carried a green lantern on his head. He wore the scowling look of a confirmed rogue. His hair stood out around his face like prickly bristles. Even the lantern that was kept on his head, Laggy noticed, had not dug into his hair; it was rather standing on its ends. He had a small tin can tucked under his arm. The holder of the yellow lantern was a coot bald, old field goblin, who had a stern, yet solemn mien and wrinkles all over his arms and face. He sported a hoary pale yellow beard that hung down to his knees in small ripples.

The first thing the goblins did was to look at Laggy. “Hey, look what a funny scarecrow!” exclaimed the green goblin as he and the red goblin went straight to Laggy. The red goblin laughed as he observed, “His head is too big for his body!” Laggy stood as still as he could; holding his breath and looking away from the goblins out of sheer fear. “They might have sown something here,” the yellow goblin remarked disinterestedly. There was, about him, an air of seriousness becoming of men of advanced ages. “Forget that scarecrow. Let’s begin business. And mind you, the stakes are going to be quite high tonight!” To Laggy’s relief, this made the other two goblins lose interest in him and they went to the yellow goblin, who had already walked away and was preparing to sit down under the banyan tree that had grotesquely twisted branches. “Whoever loses tonight must forsake some of his powers!” The red goblin declared.
“All said and done!” the green goblin retorted.

The goblins sat in a circle around the wooden board. The green goblin opened the small tin can and emptied the contents, which looked like buttons to Laggy, on the wooden board. “There you go!” he yelled and tossed a pair of dice. Then he moved some of the button-like things on the wooden board. The other goblin too did the same in turns.

Now Laggy was convinced that the goblins were there to play some game of stakes and not to practice magic as he and the scarecrow had thought. This meant that Laggy would not be able to learn any magic; which in turn meant that the liberation of the poor scarecrow was not possible. Yet, as there was nothing he could do about it, Laggy stood still, watching the goblins playing their game. In fact, he hoped that the goblins indulged in magic after their game.

After a long while, the yellow goblin suddenly stood up and declared, “I quit.”
“Better you did,” said the red goblin, “Lest you want to stake your powers”
“Oh, I rather wouldn’t,” replied the yellow goblin yawning.

It gave Laggy the jitters when the hoary goblin suddenly gave him a long, sharp look; as if he had seen through the trick. But then the next moment, he looked away and lazily ambled towards a boulder that lay across the field. “The dew literally pours!” he remarked as he sat on it. But the other two goblins were too absorbed in the game to listen to him. By then, Laggy sensed that the game had heated up. The goblins threw the dice frantically and moved the button-like things on the board with violent enthusiasm. They were shouting strange threats at each other.

“You are cornered!”
“Watch me escape”
“I fire!”
“Here’s your shot!”
“Take this one too!”
“Here comes hell!”
“The monster kicks you!”

Suddenly the green goblin screamed “Cheat!” and slapped the red one. Hard. Right on his cheek! This was followed by a fierce fight between the red and the green goblins. They bit, and scratched, and pinched, and pummeled each other, squeaking, squealing, and screaming; rolling in a bundle, alternately one coming over the other. The yellow goblin rushed to the fighting pair; crying at the top of his voice, “Stop the fight! Stop! Stop it!” But the ferocious fight went on uninterruptedly until the yellow goblin finally succeeded in separating the two physically apart.

The goblins stood on either side of the yellow goblin, still full of fight and looking daggers at each other, each one with his fist doubled and breathing heavily in anger. Suddenly the green goblin closed his eyes and cried in a shrill voice, pointing his finger at the red one, “Gibdelly, gibdelly, scarecrow!”

At once there was a muffled report as if someone had clapped hands and the next moment, the red goblin was transformed into a scarecrow! A scarecrow that had a pot for his head and stood with outstretched arms! Upon this, the yellow goblin stared at the green one hard and long.

“A nice goblin, indeed, aren’t you?!” he snarled, “To have transformed your friend into a scarecrow! For some silly quarrel over a game of cuff buttons! You are a shameless rogue, a disgrace to the entire goblin kind!”
“It was he who started it, the cheat!” the green goblin quipped, “And look how badly he has bitten me on the ear! He deserves to be punished!”
“And you would cast nasty spells on your friends for things like that? Huh! Well, I will not have to do anything with a traitor like you! Unless you transform him back to his original form, now and here! And yes, I am going to report this to Master Majestic the Mighty. Let him judge who is right and who is wrong. And I won’t be surprised if he strips you of all your magical powers for your impertinent arrogance.”
“You mean to say, he is fair and I am not?” The green goblin demanded. However, he seemed to have relented suddenly at the mention of Master Majestic the Mighty.
“Fair and unfair!” snapped the yellow goblin, “And you speaking of that! I do not want to argue with you; and I do not know the magic words that restore scarecrows to their original forms; but for all you are worth, transform him back to his original form at once! And then, perhaps, we will try speaking about fair and unfair!”

“Well, I will do it if you insist so much—I will do it out of my regard for you—but he does not deserve it, all the same!” the green goblin mumbled sorely.
“Undo the spell!” the yellow goblin commanded fiercely.

Now Laggy was excited beyond control, for he knew that the green goblin was about to utter the words, to hear which, he had risked his life and spent the night there. He, in fact, actually moved a step closer to the goblins, unable to contain himself, but luckily for him, the goblins did not notice it.

The green goblin now closed his eyes, and pointing his finger at the scarecrow, said in a shrill voice as before “Gibdelly, gibdelly darecrow!” again, there was a muffled report, and the next moment, the red goblin was transformed into his original form!

The red and the green goblins shook hands at the instance of the yellow goblin. The yellow goblin also made them swear that they would never again quarrel, or if at all they quarreled, would not use their magical powers on each other.
Now Laggy wished that the goblins were gone. He had got what he wanted to know and was feeling too excited to stand still. Moreover, he knew that he was a scatter-brain and would not be able to remember anything for long. In fact, he kept repeating the words “Gibdelly, gibdelly darecrow” in his mind so that he would not forget them by the time he reached the prince.

But the goblins were not to leave soon. They sat down under the tree and talked at length about friendship, quarrels, anger, revenge and such other things; the yellow goblin being the main speaker. After a long while, the yellow goblin declared—to Laggy’s relief—that it was time they called it a night.

The green goblin put the small button like things into the tin can and the red one picked up the wooden board. Then each goblin lifted his lantern and placing it on his head, started walking towards the hills. They went up along the same path as they had come, Laggy reckoned, judging by the pattern the lights traced. He continued to stand still until the lights vanished up in the hills.

Then he threw away the pot on his head and tore through the fields crying “Gibdelly, gibdelly, darecrow”. The moment he reached the prince-turned-scarecrow, he screamed, “Prince! I did it! I got the magic words! I can undo that spell! You will be a free man tonight!”
“The sooner you liberate me, the better” the scarecrow said slowly, “I have stood long enough here, I believe.”
“Yes! Here you go!” cried Laggy.

But then, to his utter shame and horror, he discovered that he had forgotten the magic words.
“Quite simple words they were,” he told the unfortunate scarecrow, “And I had vowed not to forget them!”
“To transform me into a scarecrow, I remember he had uttered: gibdelly, gibdelly, scarecrow,” the scarecrow said dolefully.
“Gibdelly!” snapped Laggy. “Yes, those were the words. What fine memory you have!”

He then closed his eyes and pointing his finger at the scarecrow, yelled “Gibdelly, gibdelly, darecrow!” There is nothing that works like magic. There was a muffled report, and as if in a dream, the scarecrow was instantly transformed into a prince! A handsome, stately young man with a cheerful smile on his face stood before Laggy.
“Ho Laggy, you have freed me” he exclaimed, hugging Laggy in a sudden, strong grip while tears of joy welled up in his eyes. “I will reward you with all the riches you want, and will also make you a minister in my court!”
“Prince!” said Laggy “I am glad that I have been able to help you. But right now, we will go home, to my home. I am certain my wife would not believe my tale unless I take you along with me. You are my guest tonight.”
“Sure” said the scarecrow. As they began walking, Laggy said, “Let us take care not to trample on sleeping field goblins!”
“Especially the green ones” The prince added.

And the two men laughed merrily.

V K Rajan