An old couple lived in a hut made of corn. They had tied a scarecrow on top of their hut to guard it. He always barked when anyone tried to eat the hut.
One night, when the old couple was fast asleep, some crows attacked their hut. The scarecrow started barking loudly, “Woof! Woof! Woof!” The frightened crows flew away at once.
The loud barking of the scarecrow also woke up the old man. He became angry and complained to his wife, “This scarecrow barks so loudly that I cannot sleep.” He did not know about the crows’ attack. So, the next morning, the old man took off the scarecrow’s head.
The crows came again in the night to eat the corn. The scarecrow felt them coming towards the hut. He wanted to warn the old couple, but he could not bark. So, he started kicking the hut with his legs, “Kick! Kick! Kick!” The loud and hard kicking scared the crows away.
The old man complained again, “The scarecrow’s kicking is disturbing my sleep.” And the next morning, he took off the scarecrow’s legs.
The greedy crows returned yet again in the dead of night. This time the scarecrow began to clapping loudly with his hands, “Clap! Clap! Clap!” The loud clapping frightened the crows away.
The old man still knew nothing about the crows. So, the next morning, he took off the scarecrow’s hands.
In the night, the stubborn crows returned yet again. Poor scarecrow was helpless this time. So, the crows feasted on the corn hut all night. They took the old woman with them too. As the old man was helpless, he could not save even his wife.
Finally, as old man cried for his beloved wife, he realised that the scarecrow was trying to warn them about crows all this while. He quickly put the head, hands and legs back on the scarecrow’s body, and apologised for his bad behaviour. The scarecrow heated the old couple as his parents. Now, his only aim was to get the old woman back.
Now, the scarecrow was complete. He went to find the crows. He reached their house and waited for nightfall.
That night, when the crows flew out, the scarecrow scared them by barking loudly, “Woof! Woof! Woof!” The crows were so frightened that they flew far away, never to return. The scarecrow went inside and told the old woman that he had come to save her.
The scarecrow then brought the old woman home safely and went back to guard their corn hut. The old man did not complain about the barking scarecrow any more.