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OLE AND TRUFA ( A Story of Two Leaves )/ c0 e7 E5 M& P' q8 ?9 G
by Issac Bashevis Singer4 d/ x0 q% t# k' `
The forest was large and thickly overgrown with all kinds of leaf-bearing( b% F* t0 f+ ^" S# v/ [
trees. It was in the month of November. Usually, it's cold this time of year
- q& c( |# ?8 q+ Y, `( [and it even happens that it snows, but this November was relatively warm.
# a0 Y9 d0 J+ |5 w9 h+ j1 ]- T& EThe nights were cool and windy but as soon as the sun came out in the
, `1 q. J& x1 n$ Z5 u6 pmornings it turned warm. You might have thought it was summer except that" ~& l5 B- u7 s/ `6 j
the whole forest was strewn with fallen leaves - some yellow as saffron,- a# p8 R" P8 @* K; N
some red as wine, some the color of gold, and some of mixed color. The
/ Q; M3 Z6 A: I8 ]& {$ nleaves had been torn down by the rain, by the wind, some by day, some at8 N4 q3 D( K* G2 W# ^) z
night, and they now formed a deep carpet over the forest floor. Although
. K1 m* {! j" C4 l0 L" stheir juices had run dry, the leaves still exuded a pleasant aroma. The sun
% M. h S: ^7 j& hshone down on them through the living branches, and the worms and flies; U- a Q& W0 C& Q+ ?' |0 y" m
which had somehow survived the autumn storms crawled over them. The space3 `) i) ]( Y7 B4 h l( ?& `9 F
beneath the leaves provided hiding places for crickets, field mice, and many5 ?+ w# a8 E% }& @$ D2 n$ ~) l
other creatures who sough protection in the earth. The birds that don't5 p/ Q- o. M# k- d# M! ^
migrate to warmer climates in the winter but stay behind perched on the bare
f! c2 Y% X+ }8 c0 qtree limbs. Among them were sparrows - tiny birds, but endowed with much
) b5 n4 c, U7 u; S7 Jcourage and the experience accumulated through thousands of generations.
2 Q! {7 V) E" F; TThey hopped, twittered, and searched for the food the forest offered this e4 p; `0 x$ \2 M% }" y
time of year. Many, many insects and worms had perished in recent weeks, but: z/ _; b' r; j0 \$ n
no one mourned their loss. God's creatures know that death is merely a phase
6 d/ Y0 a, m9 z g1 R: ?of life. With the coming of spring, the forest would again fill with
1 ]7 w5 N$ s0 i+ Lgrasses, green leaves, blossoms and flowers. The migrating birds would
0 L6 n' G% \0 `return from far-off lands and locate their abandoned nests. Even if the wind |/ ]- x/ L {, ^/ p$ d T. i
or the rain had disturbed a nest, it could be easily repaired.
: Q2 O2 o4 S: f: VOn the tip of a tree which had lost all its other leaves, two still6 D" `. _' T3 A& q5 P3 I# T6 j2 q( R- ~
remained. One leaf was named Ole and the other, Trufa. Ole and Trufa both. ^2 C! h! V) m( G
hung from one twig. Since they were at the very tip of the tree they2 J* F) \4 O) ~$ z5 W3 K6 d1 O8 P
received lots of sunlight. For some reason unknown to Ole or Trufa, they had' H1 @. G* v: _2 p$ B
survived all the rains, all the cold nights and winds, and still clung to
7 G5 V8 t; i% p pthe tip of the twig. Who knows the reason one leaf falls and another
3 L, o K( r+ ]- L; g M) Vremains? But Ole and Trufa believed the answer lay in the great love they6 @ z# v# S! t& m+ ?
bore one another. Ole was slightly bigger than Trufa and a few days older,7 S4 I- s$ I7 j/ G
but Trufa was prettier and more delicate. One leaf can do little for another1 t6 Z0 Q' i8 z
when the wind blows, the rain pours, or hail begins to fall. It even happens
4 @3 u! K Q) r8 a% g! J: Iin summer that a leaf is torn loose - come autumn and winter nothing can be
5 f! Z* w [. ^6 p% rdone. Still, Ole encouraged Trufa at every opportunity. During the worst
. p4 B9 C/ C; k& U `$ fstorms, when the thunder clapped, the lightning flashed, and the wind tore& h+ }" }+ @" H
off not only leaves but even whole branches, Ole pleaded with Trufa: "Hang8 ]5 M. c6 w6 D0 \3 H0 t
on, Trufa! Hang on with all your might!"
2 T# ^* a ~) J( E" {6 q0 hAt times during the cold and stormy nights, Trufa would complain: "My time
( v+ j3 H+ N9 J( X. hhas come, Ole, but you hang on!"+ k0 ^ O. z. Z$ b+ w, ~9 Y+ w
"What for?" Ole asked. "Without you, my life is senseless. If you fall, I'll
$ G- x0 f0 |( j0 Qfall with you."# c# e0 H& @( n6 u
"No, Ole, don't do it! So long as a leaf can stay up it mustn't let go..."
6 a' Y, D) ~" G" K"It all depends if you stay with me," Ole replied. "By day I look at you and/ A \0 K6 [( E1 _8 M1 {9 m# t
admire your beauty. At night I sense your fragrance. Be the only leaf on a P4 L& h+ {0 N* [2 B# D; I
tree? No, never!"
3 D! L/ Z7 i7 K5 U# X+ Y) O% h" j"Ole, your words are so sweet but they're not true," Trufa said. "You know- P6 a$ v% J6 H |0 n) O9 p7 y
very well that I'm no longer pretty. Look how wrinkled I am! All my juices
6 e) ~, x; F+ u$ V( X! M6 w" Chave dried out and I'm ashamed before the birds. They look at me with such
5 ^( {! g" d) _7 k# a- \pity. At times it seems to me they're laughing at how shriveled I've become.( O* y5 z: S& i5 g! `3 K4 o
I've lost everything, but one things is still left me - my love for you."% G! g# H! K3 P/ e! G/ O/ E
"Isn't that enough? Of all our powers love is the highest, the finest," Ole6 X+ V {- A8 O# `3 h( [0 t
said. "So long as we love each other we remain here, and no wind rain or
; q# g) a2 J3 }% M+ } dstorm can destroy us. I'll tell you something, Trufa - I never loved you as0 s7 ~" e C/ a" h; V& M7 a) m8 _
much as I love you now."1 T6 B( ]9 v2 d3 [
"Why, Ole? Why? I'm all yellow" "Who says green is pretty and yellow is not?' L# {2 @, d2 ]' Y
All colors are equally handsome.": a3 U2 U( w( b7 V$ w
And just as Ole spoke these words, that which Trufa had feared all these+ {5 H$ r( }4 X0 S
months happened - a wind came up and tore Ole loose from the twig. Trufa# _- R$ N9 q# d! i3 v
began to tremble and flutter until it seemed that she too would soon be torn
- l$ p' ^% e. n2 R! B A' J4 Laway, but she held fast. She saw Ole fall and sway in the air and she called6 @9 S. X9 O; m. t- J, S+ y
to him in leafy language: "Ole! Come back! Ole! Ole!"
4 x- ]6 P- c/ [+ m* }But before she could even finish Ole vanished from sight. He blended in with
' W' L# ^0 l" }" |5 t: n7 J# @the other leaves on the ground and Trufa was left all alone on the tree.
/ u K& `9 E; ]2 z8 N2 ^# T/ RSo long as it was still day, Trufa managed somehow to endure her grief. But
2 U; ?6 H6 ^, Q7 Uwhen it grew dark and cold and a piercing rain began to fall, she sank into
6 b1 Q) O; B/ u8 { pdespair. Somehow she felt that the blame for all the leafy misfortunes lay
) z% r2 T1 y9 p& Twith the tree, the trunk with all its mighty limbs. Leaves fell but the
# V5 ^( I: k3 h4 D; i) }; \' [trunk stood tall, thick and firmly rooted in the ground. No wind, rain, or
2 a3 ], ~8 }7 r/ R J: @; Mhail could upset it. What did it matter to a tree which probably loved
- C9 K n; X8 O; ]$ R5 @9 ^4 dforever what became of a leaf? To Trufa, the trunk was a kind of God. It
; K8 h2 e( Q7 ]" f7 e, `% S: rcovered itself with leaves for a few months, then it shook them off. It
1 M6 b8 Z" m8 M1 E# i' S' snourished them with its sap as long as it pleased, then it let them die of
. m2 I) L% S9 n4 q( y% vthirst. Trufa pleaded with the tree to give her back her Ole and make it, t5 T* h: H3 j5 ]5 f4 H* A5 z/ \
summer again, but the tree didn't heed, or refused to heed, her prayers..." I4 f+ s% [" }$ m5 }
Trufa didn't think a night could be so long as this one - so dark, so
X G7 i, h& E% M; mfrosty. She spoke to Ole and hoped for an answer, but Ole was silent and
- y" E; f+ e$ s. o" {5 K, Mgave no sign of his presence., S% A# n& d7 w; |# Z
Trufa said to the tree: "Since you've taken Ole from me, take me too."
; I. w0 g. K* e. [' q. g3 j. Y1 B0 pBut even this prayer the tree didn't acknowledge.% E8 l2 D# r0 G+ R
After a while, Trufa dozed off. This wasn't sleep but a strange languor.4 x/ t' o: K& G( Z0 c* r
Trufa awoke and to her amazement found that she was no longer hanging on the
+ U7 `7 W; C; T4 K! etree. The wind had blown her down while she was asleep. This was different
! h5 d, U2 ?" ? f- _1 Ufrom the way she used to feel when she awoke on the tree with the sunrise.
5 X! @$ {0 T3 M) k' U: ?# gAll her fears and anxieties had now vanished. The awakening also brought
/ J; ]" Z' L7 }: R5 y* kwith it an awareness that she had never felt before. She knew now that she
& `* J- ~/ `# x! v+ pwasn't just a leaf that depended on every whim of the wind, but that she was
3 ^5 K) V. m# Ea part of the universe. She no longer was small not weak not transient, but
. ^6 y& U M" \9 epart of an eternity. Through some mysterious force, Trufa understood the1 p7 J4 n8 ]$ ^7 ^+ b3 S
miracle of her molecules, atoms, protons, and electrons - the enormous# e6 P B0 H( z( `) o; d5 ]9 ]0 D1 ^3 w
energy she represented and the divine plan of which she was a part. Next to
: C' F% C# }$ w' S1 d2 F- zher lay OLe and they greeted each other with a love they hadn't been aware1 h. A; h$ v, V) x0 c) ]
of before. This wasn't a love that depended on chance or caprice, but a love# L. y& G- H9 p8 U I
as mighty and eternal as the universe itself. That which they had feared all& j' O4 ^: N' V4 I
the days and nights between April and November turned out to be not death
3 J7 `, J5 @( C1 @& S1 I( bbut redemption. A breeze came and lifted Ole and Trufa in the air and the
7 l7 ]) P) w& Q3 O% n7 I& |soared with the bliss known only by those who have freed themselves and have
* `, h! F3 j2 |' Jjoined with eternity. |
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