In May of 1899, in a small Greenwich Village restaurant, Sue andJohnsy meet.

They ecome friends and

rent an a!artment togetherto share e"!enses.

In #o$em er, Johnsy ecomes ill with !neumonia. %er illnesslingers. She ecomes frail and loses ho!e of
reco$ering. &utside herwindow is an old i$y $ine on which only a few lea$es remain. Johnsyhas ecome
so disheartened that she refuses to fight her way ac'to health and con$inces herself that when the last
leaf falls off the$ine, she will die.

It is the day of (house calls( for doctors, and the doctor tells Suethat if Johnsy is to get well, she must get
her mind on somethingother than her sic'ness. Sue is worried) she goes downstairs andre$eals her fears
to Mr. *ehrman, a gri++led, unsuccessful artist whodreams of one day !ainting a master!iece. &nly one
leaf remains onthe $ine now, and e$en Mr. *ehrman is worried that tonight it will fall$ictim to the wind
and rain.

The ne"t morning, when Sue and Johnsy loo' out thewindow, the last leaf is still there. Johnsy thin's
a outher situation and con$inces herself that fate causedthe leaf to stay on the $ine so that she would
not die. ith this change in attitude, Johnsy gradually getswell. The doctor comes and $erifies Johnsy-s
reco$ery.The doctor also tells Sue that Mr. *ehrman has!neumonia and is eyond hel!. %e dies that
same day. ater that day, Sue disco$ers how Mr. *ehrman ecame ill. She tells Johnsy that on the stormy
nightwhen the last leaf was a out to fall, Mr. *ehrman too' aladder, clim ed the wall, and !ainted a
truemaster!iece//a !icture of the last leaf on the ric' wall