"TwoLeaves"fromBambi,ALifeintheWoods

ByFelixSalten
Directions:Readtheshortstory.Answerthequestions.Refertothetexttocheckyouranswerswhenappropriate.
TheleaveswerefallingfromthebigoaktreeattheTheywereagainsilentforawhile.Thenthefirstleaf
edgeofthemeadow.Theywerefallingfromallthesaidtenderlytotheother,"Don'tgetyourselfallupset
trees.Oneofthebranchesoftheoakwasmuchhigheraboutit,here,you'reshivering,look."
upthantheothersanditstretchedalongwayoutover
themeadow.Atitstiptheresattwoleavestogether.
"Ohdon'tbotheraboutthat,"thesecondanswered,
"anythingmakesmeshiverthesedays.Youjustdon't
"Thingsain'tliketheytheyusedtobe,"saidoneofthefeelproperlyattachedtowhereyouare,doyou."
leaves.
"We'dbetterstoptalkingaboutthingslikethat,"said
"Theyain't,"theotheranswered."Thereweresomanythefirstleaf.
ofuslastnightwho...we'rejustabouttheonlyones
lefthereonthisbranch." "Yeah,we'dbetterleaveit,"theotherreplied."Only...
whatwegoingtotalkaboutnowthen?"
"Youneverknowwhoit'sgointo'appentonext,"said
thefirst."Evenwhenitwasniceandwarmandthe Theybecamesilent,butafterashorttimeresumedthe
sunshinegaveyousomeheatyougetastormorasubject."Whod'youthink'sgoingtobethefirstofus
cloudburstsometimes,andlotsofusgottornoffthen,togodownthere,then...?"
eventhemthatwerestillyoung.Youneverknowwho"Itwon'tbeforawhileyet,"thefirstreassuredhim.
it'sgointo'appentonext." "Let'sjustthinkabouthowbeautifulitusedtobe,how
"Youdon'tgetmuchsunshinethesedays,"thesecondwonderfullybeautiful!Whenthesuncameoutand
leafsighed,"andevenwhenthesundoesshinethere'sburnedussohotitseemedwe'djustswellupwithall
thegoodhealthitgaveus.Remember?Andthenthere
nostrengthtoit.You'vegottogetyourstrengthfrom
somewhereelse." wasthedew,earlyinthemorning...andthelimetrees,
wonderfulnights...
"Doyouthinkit'strue,"ponderedthefirst,"isittrue "Thenightsarehorriblenow,"whinedthesecond.
thatotherleaveswillcomealongandtakeourplace
oncewe'vegone,andthenanotherlot,andthen
"Theyneverseemtocometoanend."
anotherlot...?" "Wecan'tcomplain,"saidthefirstleafgently,"we've
"Courseit'strue,"whisperedthesecond,"only,welivedlongerthansomanyothers."
can'tworkouthow...it'sabovewhatwecan "HaveIchangedmuch?"thesecondleafasked,shyly
understand,thatis." butemphatically.
"It'dmakeyoureallysad,andall,"thefirstadded. "Notabit,"thefirstassuredhim."What,'causeI've
goneallyellowandugly?No,it'sgoneabitdifferent
Theyremainedsilentforawhile.Thenthefirstsaid
quietlytohimself,"Whatdoyouhavetogoawayfor,forme
anyway?" "Oh,giveover,"thesecondcontradicted.
Thesecondasked,"What'appenstousafterwe've"No,honest,"thefirstrepeatedemphatically."It'strue,
fallen?" whatI'mtellingyou.You'reaslovelyasyouasyou
wereontheveryfirstday.Mightbeafewyellow
"Wesinkdown..."
stripeshereandthere,butnotso'syou'dnotice,but
"Andwhatisit,what'sdownthere?" theyjustmakeyoulookallthelovelier.Honest!"
Thefirstanswered,"Idon'tknow.Somesayonething,"Oh,stopitnow,"saidthefirst,andbecamesilent
otherssaysomethingdifferent...nobodyknows,himself.Hecouldnottalkanymorebecausehewas
really." upset.

Thesecondasked,"D'youthinkyoufeelanything,Nowtheywerebothsilent.Thehourspassed.Adamp
d'youthinkyouknowanythingaboutyourselfwhenwindblewcoldandhostilethroughthetreetops.
you'redownthere?"
"Oh...now..."saidthesecondleaf,"...I..."Hisvoice
Thefirstanswered,"Whocansay?Noneofthembrokeoff.Hewasgentlyremovedfromhisplaceand
who'vegonedowntherehasevercomebacktotellus."fluttereddowntotheearth.-Winterhadcome