Chloe’s teacher asked the class to write about “how you would feel if you fell out of a tree and what you would do if you fell.”

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It was a nice, breezy, cool autumn day when some cute little 5-year old came toddling up the sidewalk. I thought he was just going to walk right past, but no. He was trying to pick ME off the tree! But luckily, I was just out of reach. Then I started getting worried when he started jumping to pick me off. I was saying to myself that this was the end and I hadn’t even been able to say good-bye. But fortunately, the kid’s mother came along and took him away. I gave a sigh of relief.

Then I realized that NOBODY gets that lucky without something unlucky happening. So I waited and waited and waited. I was just starting to think that I was wrong. Then it happened. A big gust of wind blew ME off the tree! Man, I should’ve known something like this would happen. I can’t believe I was the first to come off the tree. It was so embarrassing. So I tried to look at the bright side. Then it hit me. I was the FIRST to fall off the tree!

What I mean by that is it was like winning 1st place in a race! Thinking about it from that point of view made me feel better. There was only one little problem. Leaves can’t MOVE on their own. So I was basically stuck on the sidewalk. Then I waited for a gust of wind or something that could move me. Eventually, a little girl who was 3 years old came waddling along. I thought she was just going to step on me so I braced myself for the pain. I was wondering if this is how I was going to be moved.

She was coming closer and closer and CLOSER. Then she stopped, bent down, picked me up and started waddling back toward her house. This was NOT what I was intending when I said MOVE. Luckily (for me) she tripped over a root, fell down, dropped me, and started to cry. I kind of felt bad but that was not MY problem. Once I was clear of the little demon, a gust of wind blew me across to the other side of the street.

Then something I had never thought of before came to me. It was this: now that I wasn’t on the tree anymore I would only have (at most) about 3 days to live. So once I got that processed into my mind I waited for it to happen. I was kind of glad that I died because it was really rather boring sitting on the sidewalk all day. Plus, I couldn’t wait to see the other leaves again.