THE ADVENTURES OF STAN

THE ADVENTURES OF STAN

Darrell Cunningham

A series of stories about a 1939 Standard Flying Eight Tourer especially for children

BOOK FOUR

SCARECROW MEETS THE CHILDREN

COPYRIGHT WORLDWIDE

The sun had only just risen over the hills as James made his way down from the house to the barn where he kept STAN his special little car, a Standard Flying Eight Tourer.

Unlocking the barn doors James then opened the driver’s door and hopped in. Putting the key in the ignition he pulled the starter and Stan’s little engine fired into life. James drove Stan out and parked outside. James started to polish Stan but just then a bell sounded from the house. It was his wife Emily calling him to come up to the house. Being somewhat absent minded he left the keys in the ignition and ran up the track to the house.

Hearing a rustle nearby Stan looked towards the noise and spotted Scarecrow emerging from the long grass at the edge of the field.

“Morning” greeted Stan

“How do?” replied Scarecrow

“He’s left the keys again in my ignition. Fancy another drive?” asked Stan with a glint in his eye.

Scarecrow had just jumped into the driver’s seat when Stan spotted the children coming down the track from the house and whispered “ FREEZE!”

Tomas got to Stan just ahead of his sister Rebecca.

“Hey look Becky” he shouted “Gramps has put that old tatty Scarecrow in the car”. And proceeded to try to take Scarecrow’s hat off.

“Watcha t’ink you is a doin’ with my ‘at?” came a very strange voice and Tomas let go of the hat immediately.

Becky asked Tomas “How did you do that without moving your lips?”

“I err didn’t it was the Scarecrow” replied Tomas stilled very shocked.

“That’s torn it” came a different voice, this time it seemed from the car itself.

“The car spoke, I know it did!” exclaimed Becky

Stan gave a big sigh and the uttered “Yes I did and so did that Scarecrow he is my friend”

Then Scarecrow extended his right hand saying “ ‘ow do, I’m Scarecrow and this is Stan”

Very timidly both the children shook hands with Scarecrow and patted Stan on his bonnet.

Stan then told the children all about his early memories including flying and about the Fairy. The children sat in the back seats of Stan totally engrossed. At the end Stan swore them to secrecy.

“SCARECROW” remarked Becky “Don’t you have a name like me then?”

“Them ‘ere farm hands just calls me Scary my Dear” replied Scarecrow, looking a bid sad.

“Well we can’t have that!” Becky stated “What shall we call him Tomas?”

Tomas, Becky and even Stan thought deeply.

“You know we must do something about your clothes and hat they are I am sorry looking very thread bare and dirty” remarked Tomas.

“I am sure I saw Mum put an old morning dress suit and top hat out ready to take to the Charity shop. I think it’s in a black bag in our car, perhaps if we ask Gramps he will let us redress you in that. You will look like a real gentleman” suggested Becky

With that idea Scarecrow started to get a large grin on his face at last.

“You must go back in the field though” said Becky “and we will go and ask Gramps and my mum and come straight back if we can”

With that Scarecrow ambled back to the field while the children ran up the track to the house.

The two children ran up the track to the house to find the bag and ask their grand father.

When they reached the kitchen Becky called for her mother.

“I’m in here Becky” came her mother’s voice from the lounge. Becky and Tomas entered the lounge where their mother was sitting with their Grand parents having coffee and biscuits. Becky was about to ask about the clothes in the black bag in the car when a thought crossed her mind. She could not ask for the clothes for the scarecrow because her mother would be suspicious as they were not allowed into the field, where scarecrow was supposed to be in the middle of.

“Tomas and I went to see Stan” she started “As we passed the field I noticed that the birds were pulling out the old scarecrow’s straw. I thought it was there to scare crows away”.

“It is” replied her grandfather “but its’ clothes are very old and dirty. I must redress it again soon when I can sort out some old clothes”.

Becky could not believe her luck. “Gramps mum has some old clothes in a bag in our car. Why don’t you ask her if you can have them?”

“That’s a good idea” replied James “How about it then Megan?”

“Well I have some old clothes in the car. I was going into Town to the charity shop. I suppose you could have them” replied Megan.

“What have you got in the bag anyway Megan?”

“A morning dress suit , a shirt white gloves and of course a top hat. Do you want to see them? Megan asked.

They all filed out to the car and Megan handed the bag to her father.

James removed the contents from the black bag. “Well well old scarecrow would certainly give the birds a shock dressed in these “he said smiling. “However goodness knows when I will have time to dress it”

“We could do it” chipped in Tomas “It would be fun”

“Oh alright if it’s ok with your mother that is” said his grand father.

Becky looked at her mum with big appealing eyes and, her mother nodded her head.

“Mind you put it back on its’ post afterwards it always seems to be untied when I check before high winds; can’t understand it at all” James shouted after the two children as they ran down to the field, Becky carrying the precious clothes.

“Never seen my children so excited to do some work” Megan remarked to her mother.

Tomas ran to the barn looking for some tools and rope, while Becky told Stan all about the new smart clothes and his tall top hat for his friend Scarecrow.

Becky joined Tomas who had emerged from the barn clutching a bag of tools. Together they crossed the field to where Scarecrow was standing up right against a post. After showing him the clothes she was holding she helped him out of his coat and old shirt. First he put the new dress shirt on with her help. Becky buttoned it up as Scarecrow still had his gloves on. Then he put the coat.

“That looks better” Becky remarked “Now for the trousers”

“Thanky kindly but I can manage to put my own trousers on” Scarecrow said “Just both of you turn round and face the other way”

The children turned their backs on Scarecrow and tried not to laugh.

After a few minutes accompanied by a few grunts from behind them Scarecrow uttered “Tomas can you help me with this ere strange metal thing where the buttons should be please”

Tomas turned round and walked over to Scarecrow and as he pulled the zip on the trousers up saying “That’s a zip. There you are all done. Oh you will need your shoes back on let me help you”

Becky and Tomas watched as Scarecrow started to walk around and noticed that Scarecrow was gripping the top of his trousers firmly.

“Oh dear he needs a belt or something to stop his trousers falling down. Any ideas Tomas?” Becky asked.

Tomas looked in the bag and found a piece of rope. “This will do nicely” he said and proceeded to thread the rope through the loops on scarecrow new trousers, finally tying the two ends together in a bow.

As he finished Becky placed the top hat on scarecrows head and placed the strap Tomas had also made under Scarecrows’ chin to keep his hat on in high winds.

As Scarecrow walked off to show Stan his new outfit Becky and Tomas followed him watching out for anyone else.

“Well that settles it” mused Stan “He will have to be called Topper” as he looked at his friend in full morning dress.

The children then helped Topper back to his post in the field, said goodbye and went up to the house to tell everyone.

“Well we had better go and have a look at what you have done to the scarecrow hadn’t we” James said to the children when they arrived very excited in the kitchen.

As they all reached the middle of the field Becky suddenly said “We have called Him Topper”

“That’s not a bad name for a very smart scarecrow, but there is something still missing” and with that the childrens’ grand father suddenly ran back up to the house coming back after a few minutes with something red in his right hand. He went straight up to Topper and fiddled about finally stepping back so everybody could see. There sitting at the top of the shirt sat a bright red bow tie. “Now” said James “Topper is fully dressed. I got that bow tie from Aunty Josephine a few Christmases ago” and they all laughed.

That evening after Megan and the children had gone home James remarked to Emily “I have just remembered in all the excitement Stan is still outside the barn. I had better go down and put him away”

Clutching his big torch he walked down the track towards Stan. As he passed the field he shone the torch over to where Topper was leaning up against his post. “ Funny” he thought I the children forgot to tell me they had repainted Toppers’ face with a big grin, “He looks much better now” he said out aloud as he reached Stan.

“That was a nice thing you did for my friend” a very quiet voice said as James closed the barn doors after putting Stan inside.

James stopped in his tracks and glanced back “I must really have to give up that late night drink I have, I keep imagining I hear voices!”

Back inside the barn Stan thought to himself “Soon I am going to shock him but not quite yet I think!”

What happens next?

YOU CAN READ ALL THE STORIES AND MUCH MORE IN THE FIRST PRINTED BOOK

WHICH WILL BE AVAILABLE IN SUMMER 2010 IN GOOD BOOK SHOPS