Filed under: Children's Stories
Sorry, no illustrations yet… Haha
Once there was a small, green leaf sitting high up in a magnolia tree.
This leaf was just as jolly green as all the other jolly green leaves, but for all of his life, this small leaf dreamed that someday he might be the greenest leaf in the whole tree.
But he didn’t know how.
As the leave was thinking, he saw a small, fuzzy caterpillar inching by. “Hey Caterpillar!” said the leaf, “Can you tell me how to become the greenest of all the leaves in the tree?”
“Sunlight,” said the caterpillar, “If you pull your stem to stretch you high above all the other leaves, then you will get much more sunlight, and you will surely become the greenest leaf.”
After saying thank you and goodbye, the leaf pulled on his stem and grew up, up, up, taller than any of the other leaves, and the sun started shining brightly on his face
But he did not get greener.
Then the leaf saw a bird flying high in the sky above him. “Bird!” shouted the leaf, “Bird! Biiiiiiird!”
The bird finally heard the leaf’s cry and flew down to perch on the tallest branch of the magnolia tree. “Bird,” the leaf asked, “Can you tell me how to become the greenest of all the leaves in the tree?”
“Water,” said the bird, “When it rains, soak up all the water for yourself. Don’t let any other leaf use your water. Then you will be the greenest leaf of all.”
So then a big thunderstorm came rolling through the sky. The leaf soaked up all the water for himself, and left none for the other leaves.
But he did not get greener.
The leaf looked down at all of his leaf friends from the magnolia tree. They were sad and weak, because they no longer had any water or sunlight, for the leaf was keeping it all for himself. Because they were so sad and weak, they started to lose their green and turn a sad, sad brown.
The leaf was finally the greenest leaf of all.
But he was not happy, because he no longer had any friends.
Now the trunk, hearing all the commotion in the branches, yelled up to the leaf. “Leeeeeeaaaaaf!”
“I am here,” said the greenest leaf with a great sigh. “Trunk, I wanted to be the greenest leaf in the tree, so I stole all the sunlight and soaked up all the water and kept them for myself. Now I am the greenest, but all the other leaves are sad and weak, for they are brown.”
The trunk knew just what to say.
“Leaf, you have a stem. That stem is connected to a branch, which is connected to a trunk which goes down into the earth. There are many leaves, many branches, and many roots that burrow far underground. Together, they make up the tree, and for the tree to be happy, they all must work together.
“Listen closely, leaf, for I have known this magnolia tree much longer than you have. The tree cannot be happy if the roots, the trunk, the branches, and even the leaves don’t work together. Do you understand, leaf?”
“Yes,” said the leaf, “I understand. It is not good for the tree if I keep all the green to myself.”
So the greenest leaf went back to his place on the branch, and shared the sunlight and the water with all the other parts of the tree.
And because every part of the tree learned to work together, the magnolia tree became the greenest tree of all the trees in the whole land.
The End.
