was a scarecrow
dreamed up for BBC "children's hour" in 1935
by Barbara Euphan Todd, with much of the genius
of Flann O'Brien.
Like At Swim-two-Birds
it defies illustration and translation
to the screens. It came out as
the first Puffin book in 1936.
Worzel (a word for a kind of turnip,
mangel, swede or rutabaga)
described himself as a kind of crow,
just as a hedgerow is a kind of row,
or a hedge-sparrow is a kind of bird.
The note on the pre-title page
is almost absurd,
announcing that it is suitable
for readers of 8 and over.
I last read, and marvelled at it
it when I was 84¾.
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