Feathertop

Feathertop is a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Plot (spoilers included)

In seventeenth century New England, the witch Mother Rigby conspires with Dickon, the devil, to bring a scarecrow to life, so that he can woo Polly Gookin, the daughter of Justice Gookin, toward whom Mother Rigby bears an unspecified grudge. Once the Scarecrow comes to life, Mother Rigby gives him the appearance of a normal human being - and a pipe, on which Feathertop must puff

Justice Gookin meets the Scarecrow, whom Mother Rigby has named Feathertop. He meets Polly, and the two begin to fall in love. But when Polly and Feathertop gaze into a bewitched mirror, they see Feathertop reflected as a scarecrow, not as a man. Polly faints, and the now-terrified and anguished Scarecrow rushes back to Mother Rigby, where, feeling himself utterly dejected, he deliberately breaks his pipe and collapses in a lifeless heap. Mother Rigby decides that her "son" is better off as merely a scarecrow.

The story, much embellished, was dramatized in 1908 as The Scarecrow, by American poet-playwright Percy MacKaye. Most of the characters were re-named, Polly (now known as Rachel) was given a fianceé who is constantly jealous of the Scarecrow, and the story was given a more poignant and sentimental ending.