All through breakfast Jenny couldn't stop thinking about the tiny scarecrow in Ma's apron pocket. Eventually she just had to ask.
'Ma, please can I play with Pinny Pipit.'
Ma looked at Jenny thoughtfully, she was having to think about it.
'Maybe.' she said eventually.' But you mustn't just throw her on the floor if you get bored with her, she's not a toy... and please don't get her dirty, she hates getting dirty. You must treat her gentle and kind like a real little person. If you can promise me that...then ...yes you can play with her. Can you make a promise my little robin?
'Well all really really right then.' chuckled Ma.' I've got a visitor coming soon so you can take Pinny down to my barn in the orchard behind the garden and play there for a while. Take Ooty with you, I'd like him to see if there's any mice in there, I'm sure I heard some mickies scratching around yesterday. Ma gave Jenny another big kiss on the head.
'Mind you keep your promise Jenny wren. Pinny Pipit is very precious to me and I love her very much.'
The old barn was enormous. Jenny had to push hard to open the massive wooden doors. Ooty shot inside. He must have smelt mickies because he busied himself for ages leaping in and out of the stacks of straw bales. Jenny had a look around and then finding an empty shoe box she played pretending it was a boat for Pinny Pipit.
'If you really can move on your own then please do it for me.' she begged and sat Pinny Pipit gently down in the shoe box boat and watched her carefully. She watched her for a long time hardly daring to breath, but Pinny Pipit didn't move.
'Never mind then' Jenny eventually sighed, picking Pinny back up and kissing the top of her teeny head. 'I still love you anyway.'
For the next hour or so, Pinny was sailed around the barn in her cardboard boat and pushed around the garden in a huge black baby pram that was full of bits of straw. Finding some boxes of old clothes, Jenny tried on a few hats and put a green woolly one on Ooty. He soon wriggled out of it, hats were not really his idea of fun plus he was beginning to feel the need for yet another tasty sardine and tried to kiss Jenny's nose several times.
'Ok Oots I know, I know.' said Jenny tying a piece of string to the shoe box boat. 'Let's go and get you a snack then.'
And off they went with Jenny pulling the shoebox boat along with Pinny happily riding inside it. They headed along the garden path back to the kitchen door. Jenny had just stepped over the back door step when she quickly jumped straight back out again as a raspy voice snapped viciously at her.
'Wot yous ogging at you pesky scrag. Nedder sin a lady taking tea afore?'
Jenny froze rigid and stared at the old woman who was sitting at Ma's kitchen table. Ooty's ears went totally flat to his head as he flew across the kitchen and disappeared into his shopping basket by the stove.
'Er, no, Miss... I mean yes Miss ' answered Jenny quietly.
The old woman terrified her. Ma held out her arms and Jenny shot straight to her like a bullet from a gun. The old woman glared at Jenny with her sharp black eyes.
'Scrag.' she hissed.
'Jenny, this is Miss Birdie Stump up from Dorset for a visit.' explained Ma. 'Birdie this is Jenny I just told you about her, Jenny has come to live here and I expect you to be nice to her. This is Jenny's home now.'
Jenny stared at the old brown woman.
Birdie Stump glared back at her.
'Nudder pesky scrag.' muttered the old woman looking cross and spiteful. Then, in an instant, her nasty expression switched to a sweet smiling one as she beamed up at Ma.
'skoooose me Ma, more teas please.'
The old woman then rudely waved her china teacup in Ma's face. Ma reached to take it and nearly jumped out of her slippers when Jenny suddenly screamed out loud.
' TWIGS ! Her fingers are twigs.'
Jenny was shaking and pointing at Miss Birdie's hands.
'Course they's twigs.' snapped Birdie Stump ' Wot you fink they is, pork sausages.'
Ma put her arm around Jenny to calm her down and spoke softly.
'No need to be frightened my little wren, Miss Birdie is just another scarecrow like the ones you met this morning. Only they were too shy to talk to you today. I promise Birdie won't hurt you. She's a very special scarecrow. Miss Birdie is the oldest scarecrow in England, probably in the whole world.'
Birdie Stump turned her sharp pointed nose up at Jenny and bumped her cup impatiently against Ma's tummy.
'I sez more teas Ma....pleeeease.'
Ma poured Birdie another cup of tea while Jenny edged back towards the door, still watching the nasty old scarecrow. Miss Birdie blew on her tea to cool it then sipped it like a lady holding the teacup with her little twig finger cocked in the air, but unlike a real lady she then made disgusting slurpy noises as she drank. Birdie Stump continued to stare at Jenny, her small black glass eyes peering out of her dark cracked face. Jenny just couldn't take her eyes off of her either. She guessed that Miss Birdie's head was probably made of wood as it looked brown and polished like the Napoleon hat clock on the mantel shelf. Whether she had any hair or not was impossible to tell as her head was completely wrapped in a big black bonnet, like in the olden days, with white lace around the inside and an enormous black bow tied under her chin. She rocked herself back and forth in her chair as she continued to slurp her tea, her faded black dress all the time rustling like dry winter leaves. Jenny jumped when Miss Birdie spoke again.
'Stop ogging at me. I is free 'undred and thirteenth you know. Wot you 'ere for scrag ?'
'I'm not here for anything.' Jenny answered politely but very quietly.
'Well git off then.' hissed Birdie 'In my days scrags wozn't sin an they wont 'erd neither. '
'That's enough of that Birdie.' scolded Ma. 'I asked you to be nice. Jenny's not a scrag she's a young lady and now you should be getting ready to go, the van will be here soon to collect you.'
Birdie Stump shoved her chair back hard against the stove, rose, and went to fetch her shawl. Jenny thought she did a very good impression of a pirate with a wooden leg as she clonked across the stone kitchen floor. Without her huge bonnet the old scarecrow woman was probably no taller than Jenny, but all the same Birdie Stump was still really scary.
'Orid scrags.' Birdie hissed 'All days stickin' me wid pokey sticks.' and she disappeared into the hallway pulling the door closed behind her with a loud bang.
Ma rushed forward and just caught one of her best poppy plates that wobbled and fell from the dresser. Then she sat down and poured herself a cup of tea and explained to Jenny that Birdie was too old and precious to work in the fields, so now she lived in a museum instead. Several times a year the museum staff brought Birdie to visit with Ma for a while so Ma could give Birdie her woodworm medicine and see if her clothes needed any repairs. Ma could see that Jenny was still feeling a little shocked and nervous, so light heartedly she changed the subject.
'If I know cats I expect young Ooty's hungry again.'
Ma lifted him out of the basket and onto the kitchen table.
'Did Ooty find any mice in the barn?'
'I think so.' replied Jenny her eyes fixed hard on the door to the hallway. Suddenly it burst open with another loud bang. Jenny jumped again. Ma reached out and just managed to catch a second plate before it could hit the floor.
'Where's 'em mardylade rolls? ' Demanded Birdie Stump. 'Bet that scrags et em and you go shoo orid puss, always tiddlin' on fings.'
Ooty flew off the table and back into his basket again. Then Birdie suddenly stopped moaning and stared at the floor. She had spotted Pinny Pipit in the shoe box. She bent down close to the tiny scarecrow's face and hissed at her.
'You is bad you is. You's a little hussy biter.'
Ma quickly stood up and pulled Birdie away from Pinny, offering her a paper bag to distract her.
'Time you was going now Birdie.' said Ma 'Her
e's your marmalade rolls, put them under your shawl. I just heard the van toot it's horn.'
'Make sure you's gone next time I sees you.' Birdie hissed at Jenny as she snatched the bag from Ma. She then grasped Ooty's shopping basket handle and shook it.
'No tiddlin' on nuffin or you go shoo.'
Poor Ooty, he had no intention of tiddling on anything...ever. He lay flat as a black pancake in the bottom of his basket. Birdie wrenched open the back door with another bang, this time knocking a patch of plaster off of the kitchen wall, and limped outside. Ma quickly followed her. Jenny breathed a sigh of relief. She could just hear Ma telling Birdie to try and be nicer next time she visited, and then something about robins that Jenny couldn't quite hear properly. She flopped down into the saggy old red chair by the stove.
'Phew, I'm glad she's gone Ooty, aren't you?'
Ooty was very glad indeed.
The afternoon flew past in a daze as Jenny listened carefully to Ma talking about scarecrows whilst showing her how to make proper pastry Jenny had never been so happy or so excited. Scarecrows and cooking, what a brilliant day. Ma said Jenny was lucky that Birdie Stump had chosen to speak in front of her. Jenny said she thought she was only lucky that Miss Birdie hadn't bitten her head off and eaten it with marmalade.
'Can all scarecrows move and talk like Miss Birdie ?' asked Jenny still amazed at the very thought of it.
'Only proper ones, and then only when they want to.' said Ma. 'Mostly they don’t like us hooman beans very much so they usually just stand still and quiet when they see a person coming their way. But when no one's around... they flap their arms about and shout at the crowbies to scare them off the crops and usually get up to all sorts of naughty tricks when your back's turned.'
Jenny couldn't stop asking questions.
'So how many scarecrows are there in Hod-me-dod-lee Ma?'
'Well I have sixteen to look after.' said Ma. 'Not including Miss Birdie because she only visits, but there are hundreds of scarecrows all over England busily working in other villages. My sister Bluebell has about fifteen or maybe more and I think our little sister Primrose had over twenty last time she counted, but she lives in a big village down Devon way and has a husband to help her. He's called Oak. He’s as tall as an Oak too - funny man.'
It had been a magical afternoon and Jenny made some of the best marmalade tarts that Ma had ever seen, she'd even put a sugared pastry heart in the middle of each one. Jenny always knew she'd be good at baking if she got the chance and Ma said she was a born pastry cook. Ooty forced himself to scoff another two sardines and then staggered back into his basket. He seemed to have got over the shock of meeting Birdie Stump quite quickly judging by the loud snoring noises he made for the rest of the afternoon.
After such an incredible day, Jenny made sure she was ready for bed early that evening, she was determined never to get up late ever again in case she missed any more fantastic scarecrow stuff.
Ma had got Jenny's bedroom all ready for her.
'This bedroom used to mine when I was a girl.' said Ma 'I used to share it with my sisters.'
The room was right next to Ma's and was a bit bigger in size. It faced south at the front of the cottage with a view that stretched across the wide village green to all the old shops and cottages that huddled around it.
Of the bedroom's three single beds, Jenny chose the one by the window with the blue forget-me-not flowers on the puffy feather eiderdown.
'That was my sister Bluebell's bed when she lived here.' said Ma putting the toadstool house night light on a chair next to it.
'Primrose had the yellow one and mine was the poppy red one of course. We had lots of fun in here when we were girls. I remember Primrose painted rabbits hopping all around these walls once. I hope you like it. Peter Bun painted it out fresh for me last year.'
'I do, but I wish it still had the rabbits.' said Jenny. 'They sound lovely.'
The whitewashed walls were hung with lots of animal pictures. Hedgehogs, badgers, birds and a squirrel eating blackberries. Jenny liked it a lot and went off to sleep really happy and relaxed that night with Ooty and Pinny Pipit tucked up in bed beside her.
Just as Jenny was nodding off to sleep she thought she heard a tiny squeak say