53 THE LEAF THAT WAS AFRAID

One day the wind was talking to a little leaf. He made her sigh and cry as leaves sometimes do when the wind is about.

“What is the trouble, little leaf? Why do you cry? ”asked the twig on which the leaf grew.

“The wind told me, ”said the leaf, “that some day he would blow me away from you.”Then she sighed again.

The twig told the branch, and the branch told the tree. The tree laughed and said, “Do not be afraid, little leaf. You need not go until you want to.”

Then the leaf stopped crying, and was happy. All summer she grew and grew.

One day in the fall, she looked at the other leaves and saw how beautiful they were. Some were yellow and some were red and some were both colours.

Then the leaf asked the tree, “Why are the other leaves red and yellow? ”

“Their work is done, ”said the tree, “and they are so happy that they dress in beautiful colors. They are ready to fly away.”

Then the leaf wanted to go with the other leaves. While she was thinking about it, she, too, grew very beautiful.

One day the wind came to her again. “Are you ready to go now? ”he asked.

“Yes, ”answered the leaf, “I am ready to fly away with the other leaves.”

The wind blew very hard. Away went the leaf with many other leaves, to cover up some little seeds, and to keep them warm all winter.

Then the little leaf fell asleep.

(Henry Ward Beecher)

Word list

sigh: an expression of sadness

twig: a small stick

You Practice

A) Answer the following questions.

1) What did the wind make the little leaf do when he talked to her?

2) What colour was the little leaf in summer?

3) How did the little leaf answer the wind when he asked her if she was ready to go?

4) What does it mean when it says that the little leaf fell asleep?

5) Why do you think this story was written?

B) Rhyming—Find words in the story that rhyme with these ones.

1) pie: _ _ _

2) bee: _ _ _ _

3) true: g _ _ _

4) mess: _ _ _ _ _

5) card: h _ _ _

C) True or false? Read these sentences carefully. Write true or false for each one.

1) _____ The tree was kind to the leaf.

2) _____ The other leaves were green.

3) _____ The leaves fell off because their work was done.

4) _____ At the end of the story, the little leaf was happy.

5) _____ The tree felt sad at the end of the story.