When it got hot in the valley, Thomas and Alfred drove their cows into a cool, green pasture in the mountains to graze. Usually, they stayed there with the cows for two month. Then they brought them back down to the valley again. The work was easy enough, but, oh, it was boring! All day the two men tended their cows. At night, they went back to the tiny hut where they lived. They ate supper and worked in the garden and went to sleep. It was always the same. Then one day, Thomas had an idea that changed everything.
"Let's make a doll the size of a man!" He said. "It would be fun to make and we could put it in the garden to scare away the birds."
"It should look like Harold" Alfred said. Harold was a farmer they both hated. They made a doll out of old sacks, stuffed with straw and some of their old clothes. They gave it a pointy nose like Harold's and tiny eyes like his. Then they added blonde hair and a twisted frown. Of course, they also gave it Harold's name. Each morning on their way to the pasture, they tied Harold to a pole in the garden to scare away the birds. Each night, they brought him inside so he wouldn't get ruined if it rained. When they were feeling playful, they would talk to him. One of them would say, "How are the vegetables growing today, Harold?" and the other would answer in a crazy voice, "Very slowly". They both would laugh, but not Harold. Whenever something went wrong, they would take it out on Harold. They would curse at him, even kick or punch him. Sometimes, one of them would take the food they were eating, which they were both sick of, and smear it on the doll's face.
"How do you like that stew, Harold?" He would ask. "Well, you better eat it or else!" Then the two men would howl with laughter.
One night, after Alfred wiped Harold's face with food, Harold grunted.
"Did you hear that?!" Alfred asked.
"It was Harold!" Thomas said. "I was watching him when it happened! I can't believe it!"
"How could he grunt?" Alfred asked. "It's just a sack of straw! It's not possible!"
"Let's just throw him in the fire." Thomas said. "And that will be that."
"Hey, let's not do anything stupid!" said Alfred. "We don't know what's going on. When we move the cows down, we'll leave him behind. For now, let's just keep an eye on him."
So they left Harold sitting in the corner of the hut. They didn't talk to him or take him outside anymore. Now and then, the doll grunted, but that was all. After a few days, they decided there was nothing to be afraid of. Maybe a mouse or some insects that had gotten inside Harold were making those sounds. So Thomas and Alfred went back to their old ways. Each morning they put Harold out in the garden and each night they brought him back into the hut. When they felt playful, they joked with him. When they felt mean, well, they treated him as bad as ever. Then one night, Alfred noticed something that frightened him.
"Harold is growing!" He said.
"I was just thinking the same thing." said Thomas.
"Maybe it's just our imagination." Alfred replied. "We have been on this mountain a long time."
The next morning, while they were eating, Harold stood up and walked out of the hut. He climbed up on the roof and trotted back and forth like a horse on it's hind legs. All day and all night, he trotted like that. In the morning, Harold climbed down and stood in a far corner of the pasture. The men had no idea what he would do next. They were afraid. They decided to take the cows down into the valley the same day. When they left, Harold was nowhere in sight. They felt as if they had escaped a great danger. They began joking and singing. When they had only gone a mile or two, they realized they had forgotten to bring the milking stools. Neither one wanted to go back for them, but the stools would cost a lot to replace.
"There really is nothing to be afraid of." They told one another. "After all, what would a doll do?"
They drew straws to saw which one would go back. It was Thomas.
"I'll catch up with you." He said and Alfred walked toward the valley.
When Alfred came to arise in the path, he looked back for Thomas. He did not see him anywhere. But he did see Harold. The doll was on the roof of the hut again and as Alfred watched, Harold kneeled and stretched out a bloody skin to dry in the sun.