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OLE AND TRUFA ( A Story of Two Leaves )
6 c6 N8 J" [( N+ g& Y/ A$ hby Issac Bashevis Singer: _* g* e5 b$ t8 f/ ^/ O- H
The forest was large and thickly overgrown with all kinds of leaf-bearing
) o# n/ H' i Q2 g9 ytrees. It was in the month of November. Usually, it's cold this time of year1 _) u7 Z1 Z; m e( c8 H0 V* ] v
and it even happens that it snows, but this November was relatively warm.
' M* ^! Q4 c: M: b" v ^6 NThe nights were cool and windy but as soon as the sun came out in the
- S# z6 j2 S3 l( l% F- Ymornings it turned warm. You might have thought it was summer except that
: T0 R/ D% O2 L+ ^; z. qthe whole forest was strewn with fallen leaves - some yellow as saffron,0 [8 f$ }; c3 c3 m, N
some red as wine, some the color of gold, and some of mixed color. The; @3 D% w8 a. r
leaves had been torn down by the rain, by the wind, some by day, some at( q8 m- v& T3 Y" P8 ~/ M- a
night, and they now formed a deep carpet over the forest floor. Although
7 R2 d$ q+ V( `- O8 ~ B+ Y* @their juices had run dry, the leaves still exuded a pleasant aroma. The sun! \3 Q; p! ]+ S! `/ x
shone down on them through the living branches, and the worms and flies' h) N4 z) V5 J8 ~4 d
which had somehow survived the autumn storms crawled over them. The space
& z. P% P0 v6 R+ bbeneath the leaves provided hiding places for crickets, field mice, and many
* [# c; Y2 [( T. Y4 w4 \0 n$ ]other creatures who sough protection in the earth. The birds that don't
/ n+ G; x S# V' }+ P. C tmigrate to warmer climates in the winter but stay behind perched on the bare
7 o% I% A$ ~% H0 F( jtree limbs. Among them were sparrows - tiny birds, but endowed with much, _; Y( f3 }4 h# }/ X4 i
courage and the experience accumulated through thousands of generations.' P0 J& V* v) W i n) I) C5 \6 S
They hopped, twittered, and searched for the food the forest offered this' w' I* R; h6 _/ @( h
time of year. Many, many insects and worms had perished in recent weeks, but
4 `. ]+ p. K1 W- [" L. ?3 K$ J* Bno one mourned their loss. God's creatures know that death is merely a phase" Z9 {! R9 j+ Y; a& w# ~0 G
of life. With the coming of spring, the forest would again fill with! z% b$ W% u+ S
grasses, green leaves, blossoms and flowers. The migrating birds would# Y% j0 ?! q4 f8 Z
return from far-off lands and locate their abandoned nests. Even if the wind% [/ c0 R/ a: O
or the rain had disturbed a nest, it could be easily repaired.
3 z% K9 s T! J! E, rOn the tip of a tree which had lost all its other leaves, two still2 K9 f& W6 c9 F3 o S0 Y0 T
remained. One leaf was named Ole and the other, Trufa. Ole and Trufa both4 h5 p. m8 b/ ^3 p; A) D+ v
hung from one twig. Since they were at the very tip of the tree they
4 C! i$ Z& m5 M0 i; ~. @received lots of sunlight. For some reason unknown to Ole or Trufa, they had
" ]# x- J- K, Q+ asurvived all the rains, all the cold nights and winds, and still clung to: Z( ~3 J) q- p" Y2 Z
the tip of the twig. Who knows the reason one leaf falls and another
2 a) v0 p0 I$ f4 N% k5 z/ r8 f% Dremains? But Ole and Trufa believed the answer lay in the great love they% g8 f. B t/ \" a* V
bore one another. Ole was slightly bigger than Trufa and a few days older,
" c: R( o% v* j! W. U3 U, g7 T/ C7 Kbut Trufa was prettier and more delicate. One leaf can do little for another
, ~7 q( ?4 i, ewhen the wind blows, the rain pours, or hail begins to fall. It even happens& W3 k( f" N9 r( d' i: A1 B6 y, T
in summer that a leaf is torn loose - come autumn and winter nothing can be
6 v8 F* {. [3 n5 {) Jdone. Still, Ole encouraged Trufa at every opportunity. During the worst6 _7 n' H' _* z/ Y) H/ X
storms, when the thunder clapped, the lightning flashed, and the wind tore9 ?# F. K& o# x- n }
off not only leaves but even whole branches, Ole pleaded with Trufa: "Hang& @, k; d# e5 L2 o2 X" f
on, Trufa! Hang on with all your might!"
: b6 j6 {. h0 J+ \2 PAt times during the cold and stormy nights, Trufa would complain: "My time
& o, }/ ~3 {8 a& o! @ ]" Lhas come, Ole, but you hang on!"9 i6 Q+ a A, C1 X2 a! |
"What for?" Ole asked. "Without you, my life is senseless. If you fall, I'll* F/ s7 p3 p. |0 r( A( r
fall with you."# t$ A! R- y: w0 J6 u; z5 U
"No, Ole, don't do it! So long as a leaf can stay up it mustn't let go..."' A0 A# }& D, P: V; `* _! H3 o
"It all depends if you stay with me," Ole replied. "By day I look at you and2 e' d+ [) J7 ]- Y3 r) F
admire your beauty. At night I sense your fragrance. Be the only leaf on a2 K5 c K' m$ X
tree? No, never!"
2 Z8 K" N- S H0 w) ?9 B( {"Ole, your words are so sweet but they're not true," Trufa said. "You know
2 K) q; Y# [3 s( T4 yvery well that I'm no longer pretty. Look how wrinkled I am! All my juices
) ?8 M& y0 g3 d, d2 m' b* ~have dried out and I'm ashamed before the birds. They look at me with such x0 T% m6 m# @. m
pity. At times it seems to me they're laughing at how shriveled I've become.$ I2 ?/ \( m! C. p- c" ]6 k0 s
I've lost everything, but one things is still left me - my love for you."
: E; }: G4 j( x; L j2 o6 p8 x2 L' q"Isn't that enough? Of all our powers love is the highest, the finest," Ole
6 l! i e( o( [) @8 N6 asaid. "So long as we love each other we remain here, and no wind rain or
% S1 j- h. ~/ a+ t: W( ?! Z6 P0 p. @storm can destroy us. I'll tell you something, Trufa - I never loved you as7 q- |; \! Q$ d
much as I love you now."
5 ^" h" ?4 r+ y7 G) H" A"Why, Ole? Why? I'm all yellow" "Who says green is pretty and yellow is not?: F) \& G, x8 u+ @3 N1 W
All colors are equally handsome."
( L% P8 O9 `; }8 J( H8 P6 t+ D8 YAnd just as Ole spoke these words, that which Trufa had feared all these
: Z7 }+ r8 y/ |: F2 A" ` bmonths happened - a wind came up and tore Ole loose from the twig. Trufa1 I8 d$ K! g5 S* B+ p
began to tremble and flutter until it seemed that she too would soon be torn
/ `! b# f8 G$ A; I/ s& H4 Jaway, but she held fast. She saw Ole fall and sway in the air and she called
8 \9 H+ o! i5 n- h' [" ato him in leafy language: "Ole! Come back! Ole! Ole!"$ T, N4 v! m) U6 Y4 l& I
But before she could even finish Ole vanished from sight. He blended in with; I7 P, F$ m; q% n
the other leaves on the ground and Trufa was left all alone on the tree.
- b. f& Q% V; hSo long as it was still day, Trufa managed somehow to endure her grief. But# e6 j4 Z: l, c
when it grew dark and cold and a piercing rain began to fall, she sank into
6 y2 k0 D X8 r& W4 e# H+ Y- [despair. Somehow she felt that the blame for all the leafy misfortunes lay: H6 L, T( w$ i1 C6 V4 ~0 `
with the tree, the trunk with all its mighty limbs. Leaves fell but the
. n0 m# G6 E8 l% [5 ptrunk stood tall, thick and firmly rooted in the ground. No wind, rain, or
% C" X! E) }) `hail could upset it. What did it matter to a tree which probably loved
" i. ^8 `, E% w3 f. N6 ]forever what became of a leaf? To Trufa, the trunk was a kind of God. It
8 `6 J' B( V1 {$ Acovered itself with leaves for a few months, then it shook them off. It
( `/ J: A, S$ W3 `; t* f- _+ Unourished them with its sap as long as it pleased, then it let them die of+ D- Z2 F5 D( c( a' E9 b: U. N& m
thirst. Trufa pleaded with the tree to give her back her Ole and make it
2 t( M# B- n, d9 }$ N" Bsummer again, but the tree didn't heed, or refused to heed, her prayers.../ g6 K+ u5 P2 ]( z/ @0 X2 R @
Trufa didn't think a night could be so long as this one - so dark, so
+ r+ Z4 E# k, x4 C7 ]frosty. She spoke to Ole and hoped for an answer, but Ole was silent and1 m5 \7 H d7 y3 S. t& x
gave no sign of his presence.% K: v* w9 q ]- u" g5 j9 Q# X! ~! B X
Trufa said to the tree: "Since you've taken Ole from me, take me too."
/ G$ k: y/ p$ @- ~- m! hBut even this prayer the tree didn't acknowledge.
W' [/ g( i) OAfter a while, Trufa dozed off. This wasn't sleep but a strange languor.- `! W/ _; g- _" x9 J
Trufa awoke and to her amazement found that she was no longer hanging on the* c8 c" G2 b- s4 R$ [# `$ _
tree. The wind had blown her down while she was asleep. This was different! ?6 B) l9 p0 r- R1 U- e3 ^
from the way she used to feel when she awoke on the tree with the sunrise.
. r3 ^/ N/ x9 T% f+ i1 wAll her fears and anxieties had now vanished. The awakening also brought
( N) {9 ~& [8 ~' Y, N d6 Vwith it an awareness that she had never felt before. She knew now that she( q" k, {+ s) B$ s T
wasn't just a leaf that depended on every whim of the wind, but that she was; y3 _: J2 Z$ H% v; B
a part of the universe. She no longer was small not weak not transient, but- e4 k% ]! g/ y- p
part of an eternity. Through some mysterious force, Trufa understood the
1 V& O" w0 R& s$ {. f# k4 b" m( ?miracle of her molecules, atoms, protons, and electrons - the enormous6 Z, u/ c* ~( q# v+ ?+ ]% M
energy she represented and the divine plan of which she was a part. Next to
$ @2 l* _# G P9 \% Oher lay OLe and they greeted each other with a love they hadn't been aware
* a5 f! S3 p: o3 U* d* f' eof before. This wasn't a love that depended on chance or caprice, but a love' o2 v4 z/ y' I
as mighty and eternal as the universe itself. That which they had feared all% H; T/ }8 a6 x1 ~4 ?6 `
the days and nights between April and November turned out to be not death
. C2 m, C4 ^( \0 U. W2 F# U9 Bbut redemption. A breeze came and lifted Ole and Trufa in the air and the; x. x+ r8 \; y! U% ^7 v
soared with the bliss known only by those who have freed themselves and have7 c& o% f0 h! O* i% j" h8 K8 D* }' A
joined with eternity. |
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