"He jest sa'ntered up quite leisurable, did this rook, an' lit 'pon a
pea-stick to take a blinch round. Nat'rally he cotches sight o' the
scarecrow, an' nat'rally I looked for 'n to turn tail, like the rest.
But no, sir.
"Where he was, the scarecrow's back was t'wards 'un, an' th' ould
bird jest looks et up an' down, an' this way an' that, an' cocks his
head 'pon wan side, an' looks agen an' chuckles, for all the world as
ef to say, 'Et looks like a man, an' 'tis fixed like a man; but dash
my wig! ef 'tain't a scarecrow an' no more, I ain't fit to live in an
age o' imitashuns.'
"Well, he jest sot an' sot, an' arter a while he began for to taste
the flavour o' the joke, an' then he lay back an' laffed, did that
bird, till he was fit to sweat. I reckoned I'd a-heerd birds laff
afore this, but I made an error. My 'ivens, sir! but he jest
clinched on to that pea-stick, an' shook the enj'yment out of hissel'
like a conjurer shellin' cannon-balls from a hat. An' then he'd stop
a bit, an' then fall to hootin' agen, till I was forced to laff too,
way back behind the hedge, for cumpanny. An' ivery time he noted a
fresh bit o' likelihood in the scarecrow he'd go off in a fresh fit.
I thought he'd niver ha' done.
"But in a while he hushed, an' waited a bit to calm hes nerves, an'
stepped down off the pea-stick.
Pages:
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134