"A Story to Share..."

WHAT THE LEAF SAID
William Holmes McGuffey

Once or twice a little leaf was heard to cry and
sigh, as leaves often do, when a gentle wind is blowing.
And the twig said, "What is the matter, little leaf?"

"The wind," said the leaf, "just told me that one
day it would pull me off, and throw me on the
ground to die."

The twig told it to the branch, and the branch
told it to the tree. When the tree heard it, it rustled
all over, and sent word back to the trembling leaf.

"Do not be afraid," it said; "hold on tight, and
you shall not go off till you are ready."

So the leaf stopped sighing, and went on
singing and rustling. It grew all the summer long till
October. And when the bright days of autumn came,
the leaf saw all the leaves around growing very beautiful.

Some were yellow, some were brown, and
many were striped with different colors. Then the
leaf asked the tree what this meant.

The tree said, "All these leaves are getting
ready to fly away, and they have put on these colors
because of their joy."

Then the little leaf began to want to go, and
grew very beautiful in thinking of it. When it was
gay in colors, it saw that the branches of the tree
had no bright colors on them.

So the leaf said, "O branch! why are you leadcolored
while we are all beautiful and golden?"

"We must keep on our working clothes," said
the tree, "for our work is not yet done; but your
clothes are for holidays, because your task is now over."

Just then a little puff of wind came, and the
leaf let go without thinking, and the wind took it up
and turned it over and over.

Then it fell gently down under the edge of the
fence, among hundreds of leaves, and has never
waked to tell us what it dreamed about.

"Fear Eats the Soul"