"On the crown of the scarecrow's old hat, which he had observed to be a
favorite perch of the imps, he arranged a noose of light cord. From
the noose he ran the cord down the scarecrow's single leg (scarecrows,
you know, have usually only one leg), across to the hedge, along the
hedge to the house, and up and into his room. He fixed it so it ran
without a hitch. He was very proud of it altogether. Much pleased
with himself, he got a book and a couple of apples, and seated himself
at his window to wait for his chance.

"As it happened, however, the imps were just then away in the meadow,
hunting mice. For a whole hour the Boy saw no sign of them. Then,
being called away to go on an errand into the village, he tied the end
of the cord to his bedpost, and left it with a word of advice to do
what it could in his absence.

"Well, it did! For a mere bit of string, all by itself, it didn't do
badly. 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.