The Little Leaf

THE

LITTLE LEAF WRITTEN BY ROGER MAZILLIUS

“Good morning Mr Branch” said the little leaf, “Isn’t it a lovely day?”

Mr Branch said nothing.

“Hmm” thought the little leaf “Perhaps as it’s early in the morning Mr Branch hasn’t woken up properly.“ “Good morning Mr Branch!” said the little leaf more loudly.

“Alright alright I heard you the first time!” said Mr Branch.

“Well why didn’t you answer me?” the little leaf replied.

“Because I have been here all winter on my own and I’ve not spoken to anyone”, said Mr Branch. “Even the crows have made so much noise with their cawing and squabbling that I could not get a word in edgeways. not even the smallest twig

of a word!”

“Oh dear” said little leaf, “that is a shame and now I understand why you didn’t reply to my question. Well, now we are on speaking terms do you think we will have a sunny summer?”

“I really don’t know said Mr Branch, “but what I do know is we have had a very cold winter and even the thickness of my bark did not properly keep out the cold, and as for the snow when it melted it ran right into the cracks in my bark and then froze at night and then melted again in the morning.”

Then his voice tailed off into a thoughtful silence, not another word!

“Oh dear” said little leaf. “I can only sympathise because I was curled up inside my little bud all snug as a hibernating dormouse and quite definitely fast asleep.”

“Alright for some” replied Mr Branch “I still have the scars to prove my discomfort and there you are all snug and safe without a trace of snow and ice making you cold, wet and miserable. Perhaps I am in the wrong part of the tree!”

“There is no need for you to think that” said little leaf quite firmly “Remember without you there would be no leaves and so our tree would look just like an old dead pile of wood, no life, no beauty and definitely no green. So not really a tree at all!”

“Well I suppose that’s true” said Mr Branch not really very convincingly “but I’ve still got to face next Winter with the same problems whilst you will be snug in your bud warm as a hedgehog in his pile of leaves”.

“Now now” said little Leaf “that doesn’t sound like the branch I have known for all these years, a branch which is grown longer and thicker and taller and covered with more and more leaves just like me to become a beautiful part of this lovely tree looking out over the forest as far as the bud can see. In a word

majestic!”

“I will tell you why” said little leaf “It’s because you’re an important part of the most beautiful tree in the forest. Your silvery bark shines in the sun just like a star on a moonlit night. Your leaves (I’m not showing off here but we are part of your beauty!) shimmer and dance in the sun making you Mr Silver Birch the tree so many people love and admire and plant in their gardens and parks in the thousands”!

“Really!” said Mr Branch, “Really really, I don’t think I ever thought I was beautiful” and before he could continue little leaf said “You are too modest by far. Can you not see how beautiful you are with your brand new leaves waving at you and all the other trees in the forest looking at us?

We are silver birch leaves, are we not beautiful ?”

Just at that moment a family came by and stopped next to the Silver Birch. “Did you hear anything?” said a young girl in the family. “I’m sure I heard the leaves talking.”

“I didn’t hear anything” said her brother, quite loudly.

“Neither did I” said his father, “but that doesn’t mean they weren’t talking. Sometimes people say they can hear the leaves in the wind, as if they were talking, so perhaps they just were.”

“Aaah, thought little leaf “I will have another go.” So she fluttered and shimmered in the breeze very brightly, and then she heard a voice say, “There you are, the tree is talking again” “Yes, I heard it” said the boy. “And so did I” said the father. “And so did I” said the mother.

“So everyone heard me” said little leaf, “that makes me very happy.”

“I’ve just had a thought” said Mum, “Why don’t we buy a silver birch tree like this for our garden?” “What a good idea” said Dad, “I know just the spot between the two hedges, it will look lovely there and who knows, we might even hear it talking again!”

“They could be talking about my cousin, who is on a tree in the local plant nursery” said Mr Branch, “that will make him very happy because he sent me a message a few days ago, by a friendly bird, saying he was fed up being unsold and hoped Spring would get him a new home.”

“Well wouldn’t that be nice” said little leaf, “it just goes to show, believe in yourself and dreams can come true! Ooops, here comes the sun, time for a bit of sunbathing folowed by a little snooze - see you later Mr Branch!”

But Mr Branch was already in the land of twig-nod, sighing gently in the sun, kissed by the breeze and, altogether, a happy branch!”