Felix Salten from Bambi: A life in the Woods (1928), chapter 8
April 1st, 2009Two Leaves in Autumn
The leaves were falling from the great oak at the meadow’s edge. They were
falling from all the trees.
One branch of the oak reached high above the others and stretched far out over
the meadow. Two leaves clung to its very tip.
“It isn’t the way it used to be,” said one leaf to the other.
“No,” the other leaf answered. “So many of us have fallen off tonight we’re
almost the only ones left on our branch.”
“You never know who’s going next to go next,” said the first leaf. “Even when
it was warm and the sun shone, a storm or a cloudburst would come sometimes,
and many leaves were torn off, though they were still young. You never know
who’s going to go next.”
“The sun seldom shines now,” sighed the second leaf, “and when it does it gives
no warmth. We must have warmth again.”
“Can it be true,” said the first leaf, “can it really be true, that others come
to take our places when we’re gone and after them still others, and more and
more?”
“It is really true,” whispered the second leaf. “We can’t even begin to imagine
it, it’s beyond our powers.”
“It makes me very sad,” added the first leaf.
They were silent a while. Then the first leaf said quietly to herself, “Why
must we fall…”
The second leaf asked, “What happens to us when we have fallen?”
“We sink down….”
“What is under us?”
The first leaf answered, “I don’t know, some say one thing, some another, but
nobody knows.”
The second leaf asked, “Do we feel anything, do we know anything about
ourselves when we’re down there?”
The first leaf answered, “Who knows? Not one of all those down there has ever
come back to tell us about it.”
They were silent again. Then the first leaf said tenderly to the other, “Don’t
worry so much about it, you’re trembling.”
“That’s nothing,” the second leaf answered, “I tremble at the least thing now.
I don’t feel so sure of my hold as I used to.”
“Let’s not talk any more about such things,” said the first leaf.
The other replied, “No, we’ll let it be. ButR12;what else shall we talk about?”
She was silent, but went on after a little while, “Which of us will go first?”
“There’s still plenty of time to worry about that,” the other leaf assured her.
“Let’s remember how beautiful it was, how wonderful, when the sun came out and
shone so warmly that we thought we’d burst with life. Do you remember? And the
morning dew, and the mild and splendid nights….”
“Now the nights are dreadful,” the second leaf complained, “and there is no end
to them.”
“We shouldn’t complain,” said the first leaf gently. “We’ve outlived many, many
others.”
“Have I changed much?” asked the second leaf shyly but determinedly.
“Not in the least,” the first leaf assured her.
“You only think so because I’ve got to be so yellow and ugly. But it’s
different in your case.”
“You’re fooling me,” the second leaf said.
“No, really,” the first leaf exclaimed eagerly, “believe me, you’re as lovely
as the day you were born. Here and there may be a little yellow spot but it’s
hardly noticeable and only makes you handsomer, believe me.”
“Thanks,” whispered the second leaf, quite touched. “I don’t believe you, not
altogether, but I thank you because you’re so kind, you’ve always been so kind
to me. I’m just beginning to understand how kind you are.”
“Hush,” said the other leaf, and kept silent herself for she was too troubled
to talk any more.
Then they were both silent. Hours passed.
A moist wind blew, cold and hostile, through the tree-tops.
“Ah, now,” said the second leaf, “I…” Then her voice broke off. She was torn
from her place and spun down.
Winter had come.
~ Felix Salten from Bambi: A life in the Woods (1928), chapter 8
This doesn’t happen in small towns…
March 12th, 2009“This doesn’t happen in small towns, and all of a sudden you begin to understand that you really do have the same problems in some of these small towns you have in other parts of the country.”
Wrong. Personally, I think this pretty much EXCLUSIVELY happens in small towns…
Tonsils and Adenoids
January 20th, 2009So, early this morning, my little big man had his tonsils and adenoids removed. They had been swollen for MONTHS! And there had been an ever-evolving series of infections of various sorts…
Hopefully those issues will be gone effective soon. We shall see.
In the meantime… We watch him recover. We? Yes, I have been at my ex mother in law’s house… With my son… And, of course, my ex mother in law… And ex wife… And her new husband.
I would say that if this were not me… That I would think of such a situation as quite strange… But given the already weirdness of this whole issue… I deem it pretty much status quo…
Thank God my son came out of his surgery (after the initial waking up) a happy and healthy boy… And that such meetings are a rarity in my existence on the planet.
Hopefully this whole experience will be… GOOD… For him… The things we do for our children!