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第5课 |
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有那么一次、两次，有人听到一片小树叶在尖叫、叹气，就像柔风吹过时树叶经常所说的那样。
细枝说：“小叶子，你怎么了？”
小叶子回答：“风儿刚才告诉我，有一天他会把我拽下来，扔到地上，让我等死。”
细枝把这些话儿告诉了树枝，树枝又将它们转告给了大树。大树听到这些话，吓得浑身沙沙作响，又把话儿传给了正在瑟瑟发抖的小叶子。
“不要害怕。”它说，“紧紧地抓牢，直到你准备好了后再离开吧。”
于是，小叶子停止了叹息，又继续开心地唱起歌来。整个夏天它都在成长，一直到10月份。当秋天来临时，叶子看到周围所有的树叶都长得非常漂亮，一些呈黄色，还有一些呈绿色，还有许多带着不同颜色的条纹。于是，叶子便问大树这是怎么回事儿。
大树说：“所有这些树叶都已做好了要飞的准备。它们因为高兴而穿上了五颜六色的盛装。”
听了大树的话，小叶子也想要飞走了。当它这样想时，自己也开始变得漂亮起来。但当它为自己穿上彩衣而高兴时，发现树枝并没有穿上鲜艳的衣服。于是叶子问：“哦，树枝，为什么我们都呈漂亮的金黄色，而你还是铅色的呢？”
“我们必须继续穿着自己的工作服。”“大树说，因为我们的工作还没有做完。你们之所以穿上了节日礼服，因为你们的任务现在已经完成了。”
就在这时，一阵微风吹来，还没等叶子想什么就离开了。风儿托着它，在空中飞舞起来。慢慢地，它又轻轻飘落下来，落在篱笆边的草地上，落在成百上千片的叶子当中。它再也没有醒过来，告诉我们它梦到了什么。
Once or twice a little leafwas heard to cry and sigh, as leaves often do, when a gentle wind is blowing.And the twig said, “What is the matter, little leaf?”
“The wind.”said the leaf, “just told me that one day it would pull me off, and throw me on the ground to die.”
The twig told it to the branch, and the branch told it to the tree.When the tree heard it, it rustled all over, and sent word back to the trembling leaf.
“ Do not be afraid.”it said; “hold on tight, and you shall not go offtill you are ready.”
So the leaf stopped sighing, and went on singing and rustling.It grew all the summer long till October.And when the bright days of autumn came, the leaf saw all the leaves around growing very beautiful.
Some were yellow, some were brown, and many were striped with different colors.Then the leaf asked the tree what this meant.
The tree said, “All these leaves are getting ready to fly away, and they have put on these colors because of theirjoy.”
Then the little leafbegan to want to go, and grew very beautiful in thinking ofit.When it was gay in colors, it saw that the branches ofthe tree had no bright colors on them.
So the leaf said, “O branch! why are you lead-colored while we are all beautiful and golden?”
“ We must keep on our working clothes.”said the tree, “for our work is not yet done; but your clothes are for holidays, because your task is now over.”
Just then a little puff of wind came, and the leaflet go without thinking, and the wind took it up and turned it over and over.
Then it fell gently down under the edge of the fence, among hundreds of leaves, and has never waked to tell us what it dreamed about.