AUTUMN 



broad, shiny leaves were the colour of 

 dying fire, which glowed through the 

 surrounding trees. But the frost and 

 the wind brushed those from the trees, 

 and the woods were bare except for the 

 young beeches, whose pale russet leaves 

 remain until the following Spring. The 

 hollows were knee-deep with the fallen 

 glory of the trees and proclaimed one's 

 footsteps with noisy rustling. When 

 the great winds of Autumn came the 

 leaves 'Were sent scurrying before it in 

 madly driving companies, while the 

 great tops above swayed and roared in 

 the throes of battle. Torrential rains 

 came and transformed all the custom- 

 ary hollows to pools and set tiny 

 streams a-singing in among the spread- 

 ing roots. 



Thus the season waned through sun 

 and shower and frost toward Novem- 

 ber's end. Then came a day of lan- 

 guorous quiet with golden dust floating 

 in the aromatic air and horizons veiled 

 in blue haze. Indian Summer had come 

 to cast her magic spell for a brief sea- 

 son upon the brown fields and leafless 

 woods. These golden days of almost 

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