Untitled

Continuation of Leonard the Leaf.

Leonard watched the nest closely over the next few days. He watched as the father starling brought food to the mother, on the nest. He watched as the mother starling came out of her nest, for the first time in weeks. Then both the mother and the father starlings started to bring food to the young birds, who seemed to swallow the food down as fast as their parents could bring it. The young birds grew fast and it wasn't long before their feathers grew out, and they started to wander around the opening to the nest. Leonard watched the baby birds all through the summer, as they grew bigger and bolder, and more energetic in their wanderings.

One day, one of the babies wandered too far, and fell out of the nest. He spread his wings to slow his fall and, all of a sudden, glided to a nearby branch. The father starling scolded him severely but continued to feed him on the branch, farther down the tree. It didn't take the other baby birds long to follow in their brother's wake. Soon none of the baby birds were left in the nest, and the mother and the father starlings stopped coming to the nest hole.

"Mother Tree!" Leonard cried out, "I want to fly, Mother Tree! Why can't I fly around the farm like the starlings? Why do I have to be stuck here my whole life? I want to be a starling and fly where Father Wind blows!"

"You will, Leonard. Soon, you will have your chance to fly." Mother Tree replied.

"But when Mother Tree? When?"

"Soon, Leonard. Soon." Mother Tree's replied and, with that, she was silent. As the days went by, and the young starlings learned to fly around the farm, a strange thing began to happen. Some of the other leaves, on a branch above Leonard's, began to turn bright orange. They were no longer the same deep, shiny green as Leonard.

"Why are those leaves changing color like that, Mother Tree?" asked Leonard.

"Winter is coming, Leonard", Mother Tree replied, "You will all soon turn the colors of the sunset, and fly away."

"Will even I turn bright orange?" asked Leonard. "And will even I fly?"

"Even you will fly away from me, Leonard. Even you", replied Mother Tree.

As the other leaves continued to change color, Leonard started to change with them: he started to turn orange along his edges. As the days went by, the orange color became brighter and continued to fill up more and more of his face until he really was as bright as the sunset. A breeze blew by one day, as Leonard was looking around at how pretty the other leaves were, and some of the leaves blew away. They flew around in circles and loops, before they finally came to rest on the ground.

"Me next!" shouted Leonard. "Take me!" he cried to Father Wind but Father Wind wasn't listening, and left him with Mother Tree.

A few days later, Father Wind was blowing very hard at Mother Tree. So hard that her strong trunk was swaying. Leonard felt his hold on Mother Tree growing looser and looser, until finally, it gave way entirely, and he was swooping and swaying in Father Wind's grasp. Leonard was screaming with delight as he did loop-the-loops throughout the farm.

Eventually, the breeze that knocked him off slowed down and released him to the ground. He came to rest in the yard, not too far from Mother Tree and looked back up at her now, half-bare branches. He felt sad to have left her in such a condition.

He yelled to her. "I'm sorry that I wanted to leave you, Mother Tree!"

"I'm sorry too, Leonard," she replied, as if from far away, "You were one of my favorites, this year. I will miss you deeply, but you had to go, so that new leaves can grow next year."

"But you will be so bare and cold through the winter, Mother Tree!"

"Watch as long as you can, Leonard. I will be clothed this winter, don't worry." With that, Mother Tree went to sleep for the long winter to come.

Leonard watched as long as he could. Father Wind played with him a little, blowing him across the yard and back, but when Father Wind was finished playing with him, Leonard would always end up close to Mother Tree.

Soon, the air got cold. Cold enough that Mr. Johnson's breath went white as he went to the barn every morning. Leonard was getting sleepy himself, it was hard watching Mother Tree for so long. He was thinking of finally going to sleep, when suddenly, there was a great flock of starlings flying right by him. They were flying so fast that they caught him up with them, and, for a few minutes, he was flying with them. As he settled back on the ground, he watched the starlings land on Mother Tree's bare branches. The starling flock was joined by another flock, and then another, until all of Mother Tree's branches were covered in cawing, singing, starlings. The starlings became the winter leaves for Mother Tree! They would stay all winter too, as Mr. Johnson's granddaughter set out birdseed for them during the winter.

Leonard was happy that he got to see Mother Tree's winter leaves come to rest, and with that, he went to sleep.

The End

This Story is Copyrighted, if in doubt, please read COPYRIGHTS section at TALESetc.com