everybody was frightened except mr. crow. he wanted to show how much courage he had, so he flew right up to it. they all thought him very brave. they didn't know that down in his heart he was a great coward. he wasn't afraid of this figure because he knew all about it. he had seen it put up the day before, and he knew that there was no man under the big straw hat and the flapping coat. he knew that, instead of a thinking, breathing person, there was only a stick nailed to a pole. he knew that, instead of having two good legs with which to run, this figure had only the end of a pole stuck into the ground.