Forest Tale Painting

Forest Tale looks a bit like an illustration to a fairy tale, hence the title. We have a ruling couple (a king and a queen) to the right that look at the other participants in this weird scene - a scarecrow and a small, frustrated personage in the left... The crow is a mute witness of the action that takes place. What is going on here? It is not very easy to tell. The real protagonist is of course the small guy with the reddish cap. It seems he has traveled a long way across the forest to get to the ruling authorities/principles and it looks like if they are not very satisfied with him. The scarecrow (with the green hat) plays a mediating role. Spreading its hands it tries to embrace the whole and thus to connect the both sides. It is not clear if it will succeed in this. The crow (or raven) is a bird of bad omen but in the same time a wise guy that often helps the hero to get their job done. By flying up and down it connects different levels of the world and transfers energy and knowledge. The scarecrow and the crow go always together, even if the one is made to scare the other and here they stand peacefully next to each other. So, this is a painting that maybe has not very clear message, however quite charming to me.