They became silent, but after a short time resumed the subject. “Who d’you think’s going to be the first of us to go down there, then...?”
“It won’t be for a while yet,” the first reassured him. “Let’s just think about how beautiful it used to be, how wonderfully beautiful! When the sun came out and burned us so hot it seemed we’d just swell up with all the good health it gave us. Remember? And then there was the dew, early in the morning ... and the lime trees, wonderful nights ...”
“The nights are horrible now,” whined the second. “They never seem to come to an end.”
“We can’t complain,” said the first leaf gently, “we’ve lived longer than so many others.”
“Have I changed much?” the second leaf asked, shyly but emphatically.
“Not a bit,” the first assured him. “What, ‘cause I’ve gone all yellow and ugly? No, it’s gone a bit different for me ...”
“Oh, give over,” the second contradicted.
“No, honest,” the first repeated emphatically. “It’s true, what I’m telling you. You’re as lovely as you as you were on the very first day. Might be a few yellow stripes here and there, but not so’s you’d notice, but they just make you look all the lovelier. Honest!”
“Well, thank you,” the second leaf whispered, feeling quite touched. “I’m not sure I believe you ... well not everything ... but thank you for it. You are so good to me ... and you always ‘ave been ... it’s only now that I’m starting to understand how good you’ve always been to me.”
“Oh, stop it now,” said the first, and became silent himself. He could not talk any more because he was upset.