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Jimmy Scarecrow Christmas. Jimmy Scarecrow led
a sad life in the winter. Jimmy's

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greatest grief was his lack of occupation. He liked to be useful, and

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in winter he was absolutely of no
use at all. He wondered how many

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such miserable winters he would have to
endure. He was a young scarecrow,

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and this was his first one.
He was strongly made, and although his

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wooden joints creaked a little when the
wind blew, he did not grow in

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the least rickety. Every morning,
when the wintry sun peered like a hard

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yellow eye across the dry corn stubble, Jimmy felt sad. But at Christmas

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time his heart nearly broke. On
Christmas Eve, Santa Claus came in his

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sledge, heaped high with presents,
urging his team of reindeer across the field.

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He was on his way to the
farmhouse where Betsy lived with her aunt

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Hannah. Betsy was a very good
little girl, but very smooth yellow curls,

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and she had a great many presents. Santa Claus had a large wax

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dull baby for her on his arm, tucked up against the fur collar of

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his coat. He was afraid to
trust it in the pack lest it get

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broken. When poor Jimmy Scarecrow saw
Santa Claus, his heart gave a great

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leap. Santa Claus, here I
am, he cried out, but Santa

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Claus did not hear him. Santa
Claus, please give me a little present.

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I was good all summer and kept
the crows out of the corn.

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Plaited the poor scarecrow in his choking
voice, but Santa Claus passed by with

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the merry halloo and a great clamor
of bells. Then Jimmy Scarecrow stood in

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the corn stubble and shook with sobs
until his joints creaked. I am of

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no use in the world, and
everybody has forgotten me, he moaned,

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But he was mistaken. The next
morning, Bessy sat at the window holding

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her Christmas doll baby, and she
looked at at Jimmy Scarecrow, standing alone

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in the field amidst the corn stubble. Aunt Hannah said she. Aunt Hannah

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was making a crazy patchwork quilt,
and she frowned hard, a triangular piece

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of red silk and circular piece of
pink, wondering how to fit them together?

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Well, said she. Did Santa
Claus bring the scarecrow any Christmas present?

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No, of course he didn't.
Why not because he's a scarecrow.

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Don't ask silly questions. I wouldn't
like to be treated so if I was

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a scarecrow, said Betsy. But
Aunt Hannah did not hear her. She

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was busy cutting a triangular snip out
of the round piece of pink silk so

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the piece of red silk could be
feathers stitched into it. It was sewing

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hard out of doors, and the
north wind blew. The scarecrow's poor old

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coat got whiter and whiter with snow. Sometimes he almost vanished, and a

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thick white storm. Aunt Hannah worked
until the middle of the afternoon on her

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quazy quilt. Then she got up
and spread it out over the sofa with

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an air of pride there, said
she. That's done, and that makes

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yes. I've got one for every
bed in the house, and I've given

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far away. I'd give this away
if I knew of anybody that wanted it.

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Aunt Hannah put on her hood and
shawl, and drew some blue larne

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stockings on over her shoes, and
set out through the snow to carry a

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slice of plum pudding to her sister
Susan, who lived down the road.

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Half an hour after Aunt Hannah had
gone, Betsy put her little red plaid

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shawl over her head and ran across
the field to Jimmy Scarecrow. She carried

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her new doll baby smuggled up under
her shawl. Wish you merry Christmas,

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she said to Jimmy Scarecrow. Wish
you the same, said Jimmy, but

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his voice was choked with sobs and
was also muffled, for his old hat

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had slipped down to his chin.
Betsy looked pitifully at the old hat,

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fringed with icicles like frozen tears,
and the old snow laden coat. I've

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brought you a Christmas present, said
she, and with that she tucked her

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doll baby inside Jimmy Scarecrow's coat,
sticking its tiny feet into a pocket.

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Thank you, said Jimmy Scarecrow faintly. You're welcome, said she. Keep

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her under your overcoat, says,
The snow won't with her and she won't

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catch cold. She is delicate.
Yes, I will, said Jimmy Scarecrow,

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and he tried hard to bring one
of his stiff outstretched arms around to

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clasp the doll baby. Don't you
feel cold in that old swimmer coat,

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asked Betsy. If I batt a
little exercise, I should be warm,

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he replied, but he shivered and
the wind whistled through his rags. You

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wait a minute, said Betsy,
and was off across the field. Jimmy

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Scarecrow stood in the corn stubble with
the doll baby under his coat and waited.

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And soon Bessy was back again,
with Aunt Hannah's crazy quilt trailing in

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the snow behind her. Here,
said she, Here is something to keep

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you warm, and she folded the
crazy quilt around the scarecrow and pinned it.

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Aunt Hannah wants to give it away
if anybody wants it, she explained.

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She's got so many crazy quilts in
the house now she doesn't know what

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to do with them. Good Bye, Be sure you keep the doll baby

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covered up, And with that she
ran across the field and left Jimmy Scarecrow

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alone with the crazy quilt and the
doll baby. The bright fresh of colors

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under Jimmie's hat brim drazzled under his
eyes, and he felt a little alarmed.

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I hope this quote is harmless if
it is crazy, he said.

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But the quilt was warm, and
he dismissed his fears. Soon the doll

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baby whimpered, but he creaked his
joints a little, and that amused it,

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and he heard it cooing inside his
coat. Jimmy Scarecrow had never felt

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so happy in his life as he
did for an hour or so. But

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after that the snow began to turn
to rain, and the crazy quilt was

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soaked through and through, and not
only that but his coat and the poor

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doll baby. It cried pitifully for
a while, and then it was still,

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and he was afraid it was dead. It grew very dark, and

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the rain fell in sheets. The
snow melted, and Jimmy Scarecrow stood half

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way up his old boots and water. He was saying to himself that the

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saddest hour of his life had come, when suddenly he heard Santa Claus the

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say bells and his merry voice talking
to his reindeer. It was after midnight,

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Christmas was over, and Santa was
hastening home to the North Pole.

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Santa Claus, Dear Santa Claus,
cried, Jimmy Scarecrow with a great sob,

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and that time Santa Claus heard him
and drew rein. Who's there,

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he shouted out of the darkness.
It's only me, replied the scarecrow.

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Who's me, shouted Santa Claus.
Jimmy, scarecrow. Santa got out of

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his and wait it up. Have
you been standing here ever since? Corn

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was ripe? He asked pityingly,
and Jimmy replied that he had What's that

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over your shoulders? Santa Claus continued, holding up his lantern. It's a

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crazy quilt. And what are you
holding under your coat? The doll baby

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that Bessy gave me, And I'm
afraid it's dead. Poor Jimmy scarecrow sobbed.

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Nonsense, cried Santa Claus. Let
me see it, and with that

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he pulled the doll baby out prom
under the scarecrow's coat and patted its back

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and shook it a little, and
it began to cry, and then to

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crow. It's all right, said
Santa Claus. This is the doll bay

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by I give Betsy, and it
is not at all delicate. It went

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through the measles and the chicken box, and the mumps and the whooping cough,

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before it left the North Pole.
Now get into the sledge, Jimmy

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Scarecrow, and bring the doll baby
in the crazy quilt. I have never

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had any quilts that weren't in their
right minds at the North Pole, but

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maybe I can chew this one.
Get in, send a cheer up to

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his reindeer, and they drew the
sledge up close in a beautiful curve.

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Get in, Jimmy Scarecrow, and
come with me to the North Pole,

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he cried. Please, how long
shall I stay? Asked Jimmy Scarecrow.

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Why you are going to live with
me, replied Santa Claus. I've been

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looking for a person like you for
a long time. Are there any crows

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the scareway the North Pole? I
want to be useful, Jimmy Scarecrow said

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anxiously. No, answered Santa Claus. But I don't want you to scareway

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crows. I want you a scare
away Arctic explorers. I can keep you

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in work for a thousand whirirers,
and scaring away Arctic explorers from the North

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Pole is much more important then scaring
away crows from corn. Why if they

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found the pole, there wouldn't be
a piece an inch long left in a

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week's time, and the earth would
cave in like an apple without a core.

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They would whittle it all the piece
and carry it away in their pockets

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for souvenirs. Come along. I
am in a hurry. I will go

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on two conditions, said Jimmy.
First, I want to make a present.

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Don't hand on Betsey. Next Christmas. You shall make them any present

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you choose what else? I want
some way provided to scare the crows out

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of the corn next summer while I
am away, said Jimmy. That is

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easily managed, said Santa Claus.
Just wait a minute. Santa took his

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phylographic pen out of his pocket,
went with his Latin close to one of

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the fence posts, and wrote these
words upon it. Notice to crows,

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whichever coaw shall hereafter hop, fly
or flop into the spield during the absence

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of Jimmy scarecrow, and then from
purloin steel or abstract corn shall be instantly

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in a twinkling and a trice turned
snow white, and be ever after a

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disgrace, a by word, and
a reproach to his whole race. Per

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or of Santa Claus. The corn
will be safe now, said Santa Claus

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get in, Jimmy got into the
sledge, and they flew away over the

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fields, out of sight, with
merry halloos and a great clamor of bells.

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The next morning, there was much
surprise at the farmhouse when Aunt Hannah

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and Bessy looked out of the window
and the scarecrow was not in the field,

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holding off his stiff arms over the
corn stubble. Bessy I told Aunt

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Hannah she had given away the crazy
quilt and the doll baby, but had

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been scolded very little. You must
not give away anything of yours again without

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asking permission, said Aunt Hannah.
And you have no right to give anything

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of mine, even if you know
I don't want it. Now both my

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pretty quilt and your beautiful doll baby
are spoiled. That was all Aunt Hannah

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had said. She thought she would
send John after the quilt and the doll

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baby next morning, as soon as
it was light. But Jimmy the scarecrow

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was gone, and the crazy quilt
and the doll baby with him. John

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the servant man searched everywhere, but
not a trace of them could he find.

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They must have all blown away.
Mum, he said Aunt Hannah,

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we shall have to have another scarecrow
next summer, said she. But the

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next summer there was no need of
a scarecrow, for not a crow came

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past the fence post on which Santa
Claus had written his notice to crows.

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The cornfield was never so beautiful,
and not a single grain was torn by

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a crow, And everybody wondered at
it, for they could not read the

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crow language in which Santa had written. It is a great mystery to me

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why the crows don't come into our
cornfield? When there was no scarecrow,

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said Aunt Hannah. But she had
a still greater mystery to solve when Christmas

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came round again. Then she and
Betsy had each a strained present. They

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found them in the sitting room on
Christmas morning. Aunt Hannah's present was an

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old crazy quilt, remodeled, with
every piece caught square and true and matched

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exactly to its neighbor. Why it's
my old crazy quilt, but it isn't

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crazy now, cried Aunt Hannah,
and her very spectacle seemed to listen with

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amazement. Bessy's present was her doll
baby of the Christmas before, but the

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doll was a year older. She
had grown an inch and could walk and

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say Mamma, and how do.
She was changed a good deal, but

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Bessy knew her at once. It's
my doll, baby. She cried and

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snatched up and kissed her. But
neither aunt Anna nor Betsy ever knew that

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the quilt on the doll were Jimmy
Scarecrow's Christmas presents to them. And of

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Jimmy Scarecrow's Christmas by Mary E.
Wilkins Freeman