Complex sentence: In seventeenth century New England, the witch Mother Rigby has been conspiring with Dickon, the devil, to bring a scarecrow to life, so that he can woo Polly Gookin, the daughter of Judge Gookin, toward whom Mother Rigby bears an unspecified grudge.
Split into simpler sentences: In seventeenth century New England, the witch Mother Rigby has been conspiring with Dickon, the devil, to bring a scarecrow to life. The plan is for the scarecrow to woo Polly Gookin, the daughter of Judge Gookin, toward whom Mother Rigby bears an unspecified grudge.