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face, “ for I have fulfilled the purpose of my being, 
and am ready to give place to the new buds that 
have imbibed the principle of life which once ani¬ 
mated me. If you wish to know the history of a 
leaf, I will employ the little breatn I have left to tell 
you many wonderful things. 
“ You will be astonished indeed, little girl, when 
I tell you, that this great tree was once contained 
within the folds of a leaf not so large as myself; 
but it is true, and it is true too, that many thousands 
and millions of leaves, each capable of becoming a 
whole tree, have lived and fed upon this maple, 
once a leaf itself. 
“ When the seed of this great tree first fell upon 
the ground, a pelting shower drove it down beneath 
the soil; and then the sun shone warmly upon it, 
and the life that had long remained hidden within it 
began to have motion and vigor. It was wrapped 
