First the old brown rat, with his fierce little eyes and
pointed, whiskered nose, came out from under the toolhouse and began
exploring the strawberry patch. He didn't think much of strawberries
in themselves, but he was apt to find fat grubs and beetles and sleepy
June bugs under the clustering leaves. He came upon the string,
stretched taut. He was just about to bite it through and try to carry
it off to his nest when it occurred to him it might be a trap. He
turned away discreetly, and snapped up a plump June bug.
"Then the imps came sailing along. The He imp, with a loud _ca-ah_,
perched in the top of a locust and reconnoitred the situation. The She
imp alighted on the head of the scarecrow, cocked her head to one side,
and peered down upon the rat with a wicked and insulting eye.
'_Cr-r-r-r_,' she said sarcastically. But, as the rat paid no
attention to her, she hopped up and down on her toes, half-lifting her
wings in the effort to attract his eye. She hated to be ignored. But
still the rat ignored her, though he saw her perfectly well and would
have loved to eat her. At last, in her excitement, she caught sight of
the cord running over the edge of the scarecrow's hat. Snatching it up
in her beak, she gave it an energetic and inquiring tug.
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