The
Fall Of Freddie The Leaf The Story Of Life For All
Ages
Leo Buscaglia, Ph.D.
ref:
September 98 Heroinsight
Spring
has passed.
So
had Summer. Freddie, the leaf, had grown large.
His mid section was wide and strong, and his five
extensions were firm and pointed.
He had first appeared in Spring as a small sprout
on a rather large branch near the top of a tall
tree.
Freddie
was surrounded by hundreds of other leaves just
like himself, or so it seemed. Soon he discovered
that no two leaves were alike, even though they
were on the same tree. Alfred was the leaf next
to him. Ben was the leaf on his right side, and
Clare was the lovely leaf overhead. They had all
grown up together. They had learned to dance in
the Spring breezes, bask lazily in the Summer sun
and wash off in the cooling rains.
But
it was Daniel who was Freddie's best friend. He
was the largest leaf on the limb and seemed to have
been there before anyone else. It appeared to Freddie
that Daniel was also the wisest among them. It was
Daniel who told them that they were part of a tree.
It was Daniel who explained that they were growing
in a public park. It was Daniel who told them that
the tree had strong roots which were hidden in the
ground below. He explained about the birds who came
to sit on their branch and sing morning songs. He
explained about the sun, the moon, the stars, and
the seasons.
Freddie loved being a leaf. He loved his branch,
his light leafy friends, his place high in the sky,
the wind that jostled him about, the sun rays that
warmed him, the moon that covered him with soft,
white shadows. Summer had been especially nice.
The long hot days felt good and the warm nights
were peaceful and dreamy.
There
were many people in the park that Summer. They often
came and sat under Freddie's tree. Daniel told him
that giving shade was part of his purpose.
`What's
a purpose?' Freddie had asked.
`A
reason for being,' Daniel had answered. `To make
things more pleasant for others is a reason for
being. To make shade for old people who come to
escape the heat of their homes is a reason for being.
To provide a cool place for children to come and
play. To fan with our leaves the picnickers who
come to eat on chequered tablecloths. These are
all reasons for being.' Freddie especially like
the old people. They sat so quietly on the cool
grass and hardly ever moved. They talked in whispers
of times past.
The
children were fun, too, even though they sometimes
tore holes in the bark of the tree or carved their
names into it. Still, it was fun to watch them move
so fast and to laugh so much.
But Freddie's Summer soon passed.
It
vanished on an October night. He had never felt
it so cold. All the leaves shivered with the cold.
They were coated with a thin layer of white which
quickly melted and left them dew-drenched and sparkling
in the morning sun.
Again,
it was Daniel who explained that they had experience
their first frost, the sign that it was Fall and
that Winter would come soon.
Almost
at once, the whole tree, in fact, the whole park
was transformed into a blaze of colour. There was
hardly a green leaf left. Alfred had turned a deep
yellow. Ben had become a bright orange. Clare had
become a blazing red, Daniels a deep purple and
Freddie was red and gold and blue. How beautiful
they all looked. Freddie and his friends had made
their tree a rainbow.
`Why
did we turn different colours,' Freddie asked, `when
we are on the same tree?'
Each
of us is different. We have had different experiences.
We have faced the sun differently. We have cast
shade differently. Why should we not have different
colours?' Daniel said matter-of- factly. Daniel
told Freddie that this wonderful season was called
Fall.
One
day a very strange thing happened. The same breezes
that, in the past, had made them dance began to
push and pull at their stems, almost as if they
were angry. This caused some of the leaves to be
torn from their branches and swept up in the wind,
tossed about and dropped softly to the ground.
All
the leaves became frightened.
`What's happening?' they asked each other in whispers.
`It's
what happens in Fall,' Daniel told them. `It's the
time for leaves to change their home. Some people
call it to die.
