Mrs. Johnson dropped the dish towel onto the sink drain board.   She followed Billy out the back door and down the steps.   She picked Stuart up and walked toward the garden.

"Billy, can you open the garden shed door for me?" she asked.   "There is a mallet in there.   We can use it to pound Stuart's stake into the ground."

As they neared the garden, the crows flew away.   They sat on the utility wires to watch what was going on.

Billy came out of the garden shed, dragging the mallet along behind him.

"This thing sure is heavy, Mom.   This will make a good pounder for Stuart."

Mrs. Johnson laid Stuart down on the dewy grass and went into the shed.   She came out lugging a cement block in each hand.

"We will use one of these to anchor Stuart.   I can stand on the other one to reach up and pound his stake into the ground.   Here, Billy, hold his hat for me."

Billy watched as his mother placed one of the cement blocks on the ground.   She put it between the rows, in the center of the garden.   Mrs. Johnson picked up the scarecrow and put his stake down through one of the holes in the cement block.   Then she dragged the other cement block over in front of the scarecrow, and stepped up onto it.   She lifted the heavy mallet up and pounded the scarecrow's stake into the soft soil.

"Billy, can you get me some small rocks from the stone pile over by the fence?   I want to pack rocks around the stake inside the cement block.   That way, if the wind blows, Stuart will stay standing up, straight and tall."

When Stuart was in place, Billy handed the straw hat to his mother and she placed it firmly on Stuart's head.   They both stepped back to look at Stuart.

"Oh, Billy, doesn't he look wonderful!" said Mrs. Johnson.   "Now, let's go back inside and see if Stuart can do his job."

Billy and his mother put away the mallet and the one cement block.   They went back into the house and sat at the kitchen table.

"Let's watch out the window to see what those crows will do now," said Mrs. Johnson.

Stuart's legs and overalls flapped gently in the morning breeze.   The crows sat on the utility wire and looked down at him.   One daring crow flew down to the garden.   Just as he landed, the breeze caught Stuart's legs and made them move.   The startled crow flew back up onto the wire.

"I think Stuart is doing a good job," stated Mrs. Johnson.

"I think he is doing an excellentory job!" exclaimed Billy, jumping up from the table and clapping his hands.

For the next month, Stuart did his job correctly.   The crows sometimes flew into the garden.   As soon as they arrived, however, Stuart would flap his legs at them and they would fly away.

One morning, Billy woke up and ran to his bedroom window to see if Stuart was still on the job.

He saw a sight that stunned him.

"Mom, Mom," yelled billy as he ran downstairs.   "Mom, come quick. STUART IS GONE!"