Straw figure pierced with twigs

The Straw figure pierced with twigs is a crude effigy found outside George's shepherd's caravan shortly before his death. Beth initially treated it as childish nonsense, but later reconsidered it as a warning to George—one she had taken away without telling him. Its significance lies in that belated change of interpretation, while who made it and what the maker intended remain unknown.

Form and Discovery

The object is described as a small bundle of straw tied into the shape of a body, with arms, legs, and a head. A twig had been thrust right through it. The simple construction gives the figure the appearance of a doll or effigy, but the evidence does not identify its maker or explain the twig's intended meaning.

Beth found it one morning on the steps of George's shepherd's caravan. George had been away often lately and was not at home when she discovered it. She took the figure with her rather than leaving it where it lay. By the time she discusses it with Rebecca, it is a small bundle on the table between them, available for both women to inspect.

Beth's First Interpretation

Beth connected the figure to a nickname the children used for George: Goblin King. They had called him that behind his back, and Beth recalled that they feared him. In that context, she decided the straw figure was a silly boy's trick, the sort of prank that had happened before. Her explanation treats the object as mockery or mischief, not as a message that demanded action.

That reading also shaped what Beth did next: she removed the figure but did not alert George. She had not stopped hoping for him, despite his laughter at her, yet she judged the children's nonsense unworthy of concern. The object therefore entered their conversation with a history already attached to it: a discovery, a dismissive explanation, and a decision to keep it from George.

Reinterpretation as a Warning

Looking back, Beth says she now thinks the figure was a warning and that it was her fault George did not receive it. This is her retrospective interpretation, not confirmation of who made the object or whether it was deliberately intended as a warning. Her regret rests on the possibility that it mattered and on her own earlier choice to dismiss it.

The figure's force comes from the contrast between its crude, almost childish form and the danger Beth later believes it signalled. Yet she also doubts that passing it on would have changed anything: George, she says, never listened to warnings. The object thus holds two uncertainties at once—whether it truly was a warning, and whether George would have heeded one.