the leaves were falling from the big oak tree at the edge of he meadow. they were falling from all the trees. one of the branches of the oak was much higher up than the others and it stretched a long way out over the meadow. at its tip there sat two leaves together.
“things ain’t like they they used to be,” said one of the leaves.
“they ain’t,” the other answered. “there were so many of us last night who ... we’re just about the only ones left here on this branch.”
“you never know who it’s goin to ‘appen to next,” said the first. “even when it was nice and warm and the sunshine gave you some heat you get a storm or a cloudburst sometimes, and lots of us got torn off then, even them that were still young. you never know who it’s goin to ‘appen to next.”
“you don’t get much sunshine these days,” the second leaf sighed, “and even when the sun does shine there’s no strength to it. you’ve got to get your strength from somewhere else.”
“do you think it’s true,” pondered the first, “is it true that other leaves will come along and take our place once we’ve gone, and then another lot, and then another lot ...?”
“course it’s true,” whispered the second, “only, we can’t work out how ... it’s above what we can understand, that is.”
“it’d make you really sad, and all,” the first added.
they remained silent for a while. then the first said quietly to himself, “what do you have to go away for, anyway?”
the second asked, “what ‘appens to us after we’ve fallen?”
“we sink down ...”
“and what is it, what’s down there?”
the first answered, “i don’t know. some say one thing, others say something different ... nobody knows, really.”
the second asked, “d’you think you feel anything, d’you think you know anything about yourself when you’re down there?”
the first answered, “who can say? none of them who’ve gone down there has ever come back to tell us.”
they were again silent for a while. then the first leaf said tenderly to the other, “don’t get yourself all upset about it, here, you’re shivering, look.”
“oh don’t bother about that,” the second answered, “anything makes me shiver these days. you just don’t feel properly attached to where you are, do you.”
“we’d better stop talking about things like that,” said the first leaf.
“yeah, we’d better leave it,” the other replied. “only ... what we going to talk about now then?”
they became silent, but after a short time resumed the subject. “who d’you think’s going to be the first of us to go down there, then...?”
“it won’t be for a while yet,” the first reassured him. “let’s just think about how beautiful it used to be, how wonderfully beautiful! when the sun came out and burned us so hot it seemed we’d just swell up with all the good health it gave us. remember? and then there was the dew, early in the morning ... and the lime trees, wonderful nights ...”
“the nights are horrible now,” whined the second. “they never seem to come to an end.”
“we can’t complain,” said the first leaf gently, “we’ve lived longer than so many others.”
“have i changed much?” the second leaf asked, shyly but emphatically.
“not a bit,” the first assured him. “what, ‘cause i’ve gone all yellow and ugly? no, it’s gone a bit different for me ...”
“oh, give over,” the second contradicted.
“no, honest,” the first repeated emphatically. “it’s true, what i’m telling you. you’re as lovely as you as you were on the very first day. might be a few yellow stripes here and there, but not so’s you’d notice, but they just make you look all the lovelier. honest!”
“well, thank you,” the second leaf whispered, feeling quite touched. “i’m not sure i believe you ... well not everything ... but thank you for it. you are so good to me ... and you always ‘ave been ... it’s only now that i’m starting to understand how good you’ve always been to me.”
“oh, stop it now,” said the first, and became silent himself. he could not talk any more because he was upset.
now they were both silent. the hours passed. a damp wind blew cold and hostile through the tree tops.
“oh ... now ...” said the second leaf, “... i ...” his voice broke off. he was gently removed from his place and fluttered down to the earth. - winter had come.
