“Two Leaves” By Felix Salten other, “Don’t get yourself all upset about it, here, you’re

from Bambi, A Life in the Woods shivering, look.”

“Oh dont bother about that, the second answered, anything

The leaves were falling from the big oak tree at the edge of “We’d better stop talking about things like that,” said the
the meadow. They were falling from all the trees. One of the first leaf.
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 “Yeah, we’d better leave it,” the other replied. “Only ... what
sat two leaves together. we going to talk about now then?”

“Things ain’t like they used to be,” said one of the leaves. They became silent, but after a short time resumed the
subject. “Who do you think’s going to be the first of us to go
“They ain’t,” the other answered. “There were so many of us down there, then...?”
last night who ... we’re just about the only ones left here on
this branch.” “It won’t be for a while yet,” the first reassured him.
“Let’s just think about how beautiful it used to be, how
“You never know who it’s going to happen to next,” said the wonderfully beautiful! When the sun came out and burned
first. “Even when it was nice and warm and the sunshine gave us so hot it seemed we’d just swell up with all the good health
you some heat you get a storm or a cloudburst sometimes, it gave us. Remember? And then there was the dew, early in
and lots of us got torn off then, even them that were still young. the morning ... and the lime trees, wonderful nights ...”
You never know who it’s going to happen to next.”
“The nights are horrible now,” whined the second.
“You don’t get much sunshine these days,” the second leaf
sighed, “and even when the sun does shine there’s no “They never seem to come to an end.”
strength to it. You’ve got to get your strength from somewhere
else.” “We can’t complain,” said the first leaf gently, “we’ve lived
longer than so many others.”
“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 “Have I changed much?” the second leaf asked, shyly but
gone, and then another lot, and then another lot ...?” emphatically.

“Course it’s true,” whispered the second, “only, we can’t work “Not a bit,” the first assured him. “What, ‘cause I’ve gone
out how ... it’s above what we can understand, that is.” all yellow and ugly? No, it’s gone a bit different for me ...”

“It’d make you sad, and all,” the first added. “Oh, give over,” the second contradicted.

They remained silent for a while. Then the first said quietly “No, honest,” the first repeated emphatically. “It’s true, what
to himself, “What do you have to go away for, anyway?” 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
The second asked, “What happens to us after we’ve there, but not so’s you’d notice, but they just make you
fallen?” look all the lovelier. Honest!”

“We sink down ...” “Oh, stop it now,” said the first, and became silent himself.
He could not talk any more because he was upset.
“And what is it, what’s down there?”
Now they were both silent. The hours passed. A damp
The first answered, “I don’t know. Some say one thing, others wind blew cold and hostile through the treetops.
say something different ... nobody knows,
really.” “Oh ... now ...” said the second leaf, “... I ...” His voice
broke off. He was gently removed from his place and
The second asked, “Do you think you feel anything, do fluttered down to the earth. - Winter had come.
you think you know anything about yourself when you’re
down there?”

The first answered, Who can say? None of them who have
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