The Leaves

The Leaves

One day in fall a girl went outside. The girl was a princess named Sauntafi. Her name meant beautiful in her kingdom’s old language. While she was outside, she found many leaves. Red, green, yellow, orange and many other colors and hues surrounded her. She was in awe of the beautiful leaves so much, she ran inside to tell her father, the king. “Father, you simply must come outside!” She cried with delight.
Her father shook his head. “I am much too busy to leave the castle. What is so important that I must stop doing my duty as king?”
“The leaves outside are the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen! You must come witness it!” The princess cried again.
“The leaves cannot be as beautiful as you, my first daughter.” The king said with doubt.
“Oh, but they are.” Sauntafi said wistfully. “Come, father. Please?”
He shook his had again. “I cannot go.”
Sauntafi frowned and gave her father a very sad look. The king frowned. too. “Very well.” He sighed. “I shall see the leaves.”
Sauntafi smiled. “I knew you wou-” Her father interrupted her. “Ah, Ah.” He scolded, moving his finger back and forth. “Not so fast. You will bring me two leaves in the morning. Then I shall judge if they are worth seeing.”
Sauntafi sighed. “Very well, Father.” She left to go outside and picked the prettiest leaves she could find. Then, she chose two of the leaves which she would put inside a book. She ran upstairs to her bedroom after she had finished, placed the book next to her, and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning Sauntifi woke up with excitement. She quickly got ready for the day and then ran down the stairs with the book. She saw her father eating at the breakfast table and soon began to talk.

“Father, Father!”
She said with the book and leaves.
“Surely, Surely.
You will fancy these!”

“I’ve picked the prettiest leaves
out of them all
they all came from the tallest, grandest trees
I’ve ever seen in the fall!”

She handed her father the book
And said “Go to page eighty-three”
He did precisely what she said.
She continued confidently,
“You will see!”

But, very much to her surprise
Her father said “These are not pretty at all.
Surely you have mistaken which leaves are
The prettiest in the fall.”

“Let me see.” She demanded with hostility
Then she saw the leaves and cried.
They were brown and crunchy.
They looked as though they had died.

“What happened, Father?” She asked with wide eyes.
“What killed the leaves that left me in wistful sighs?”

“They wilted.” He informed her.
“As every leaf does.”

“But why did it wilt, sir?”
“It happened because…”
He told his daughter why it had wilted. She ended up feeling rather dumb. Sheepishly, she asked, “Will you now come and see the leaves? I’ve learned my ‘lesson’, I suppose.”
“Sure.” He said to his daughter.

The rest of the day was spent outside,
looking at leaves…then by the fireside.