Post by Absinthe on Nov 3, 2005 19:56:33 GMT -6
[glow=black,2,300] This story was written for my AP English class the assignment was: "Write a conversation between a leaf and a rake" I took it one step further and tried to put a little meaning behind it. Tell me what you think
Rocco the Rake and Leon the Leaf
It was just another average fall day in Gasport, New York when a young woman decided to pull the rake down from its hook in the garage and set about raking up the leaves. Little did she know that the rake was not merely an inanimate object as she believed, but due to a bit of gnome magic, it was a talking, feeling object. Rocco (as the rake has asked to be called), felt a bit of an unfamiliar sensation as he was pulled from his yearlong slumber. Upon waking, he was filled with quite a bit of anticipation at the prospect of getting to do a job that he loved and perhaps, like the year before, he would meet an interesting little leaf to hold a conversation with.
‘This is going to be a good year.’ Rocco thought. ‘I can feel it in my prongs.’
As Rocco soared through the air, carried upon the arm of the enthusiastic young woman, he began to think of a very fine conversation he had had with a young leaf he was raking the year before. His conversational companion had been a very small leaf with a short, stubby stem and a tiny round hole through the center of its red-orange body. The leaf did not have a name, and so Rocco took to calling it Leon the leaf. Rocco had been raking for nearly an hour when he happened upon Leon the leaf. The little Leon had become impaled on one of Rocco’s relatively sharp prongs and was moaning in agony.
“Little Leaf, are you alright?” Rocco had asked worriedly. He really had not meant to hurt anything.
“Does it look like I am alright?” Leon replied sarcastically. “I have one of your blasted prongs through my center. Would you like to be impaled on bits of metal?”
Rocco contemplated this for a moment and decided that no, he would not like to be impaled on bits of metal. It did not sound like a very pleasant experience.
“No, Little Leaf. I do not think I should like to be impaled upon my prongs. Does it hurt much?” The leaf wiggled indignantly with a bit of help from the wind.
“No, of course not. I feel right as rain. Yes it hurts, you imbecile!” Rocco could not help but think that his little leaf companion was rather angry and not very nice.
“I am terribly sorry Little Leaf. I did not mean to poke you with my prongs. You see, I have little control over where I go. This human is the one who wields me. Perhaps if you were to ask her nicely, she would set you free.”
“I cannot ask the human to set me free. Humans have very simple minds and do not have the ability to comprehend our superior language skills. I suppose I must simply wait out this retched pain upon your filthy metal prong.” Leon moaned loudly for effect and though the young woman wielding the rake looked up for a moment, she shook her head, taking the odd noise to be simply something of the wind. Leon’s moaning became louder and louder until Rocco could scarcely take it.
“Please, Little Leaf. If I had a true heart and not simply a core of wood, your agony would break it apart. I do not think I shall be able to stand much more of your pain. Perhaps I could find a way to help you.” And so, Rocco began to think of possible ways to relieve the poor little leaf from his pain. “Maybe if I were to dig myself into the ground, then you could crawl off as the human lifted me up once again.” At this, Leon simply laughed.
“How is it that you will dig yourself into the ground if you cannot move without the human to guide you? That will surely not work.” Rocco agreed and tried his hardest to think of other ways to set Leon free. Before he could think of a feasible plan, however, the human took matters into her own hands. She had noticed Leon stuck on one of her rake’s metal prongs and was reaching down to remove him. “Finally,” said the little leaf. “I may be free.”
“Goodbye Little Leaf. I am glad that we became friends. I wish you the best of luck and perhaps we shall meet again someday.” Rocco said merrily. At that moment, the young woman pulled Leon from Rocco’s prong, ripping him apart in the process and simply tossing him to the wind. Rocco was stunned to silence as he watched the remaining bits of his companion soar away with the wind.
‘No, perhaps I would not like to make friends with another leaf.’ Rocco thought, remembering the pain of watching his only friend thrown in pieces to the wind. As Rocco thought about his experience with Leon the leaf, he would have smiled had he had a mouth.
‘At least now, my Little Leaf is free.’[/glow]
Rocco the Rake and Leon the Leaf
It was just another average fall day in Gasport, New York when a young woman decided to pull the rake down from its hook in the garage and set about raking up the leaves. Little did she know that the rake was not merely an inanimate object as she believed, but due to a bit of gnome magic, it was a talking, feeling object. Rocco (as the rake has asked to be called), felt a bit of an unfamiliar sensation as he was pulled from his yearlong slumber. Upon waking, he was filled with quite a bit of anticipation at the prospect of getting to do a job that he loved and perhaps, like the year before, he would meet an interesting little leaf to hold a conversation with.
‘This is going to be a good year.’ Rocco thought. ‘I can feel it in my prongs.’
As Rocco soared through the air, carried upon the arm of the enthusiastic young woman, he began to think of a very fine conversation he had had with a young leaf he was raking the year before. His conversational companion had been a very small leaf with a short, stubby stem and a tiny round hole through the center of its red-orange body. The leaf did not have a name, and so Rocco took to calling it Leon the leaf. Rocco had been raking for nearly an hour when he happened upon Leon the leaf. The little Leon had become impaled on one of Rocco’s relatively sharp prongs and was moaning in agony.
“Little Leaf, are you alright?” Rocco had asked worriedly. He really had not meant to hurt anything.
“Does it look like I am alright?” Leon replied sarcastically. “I have one of your blasted prongs through my center. Would you like to be impaled on bits of metal?”
Rocco contemplated this for a moment and decided that no, he would not like to be impaled on bits of metal. It did not sound like a very pleasant experience.
“No, Little Leaf. I do not think I should like to be impaled upon my prongs. Does it hurt much?” The leaf wiggled indignantly with a bit of help from the wind.
“No, of course not. I feel right as rain. Yes it hurts, you imbecile!” Rocco could not help but think that his little leaf companion was rather angry and not very nice.
“I am terribly sorry Little Leaf. I did not mean to poke you with my prongs. You see, I have little control over where I go. This human is the one who wields me. Perhaps if you were to ask her nicely, she would set you free.”
“I cannot ask the human to set me free. Humans have very simple minds and do not have the ability to comprehend our superior language skills. I suppose I must simply wait out this retched pain upon your filthy metal prong.” Leon moaned loudly for effect and though the young woman wielding the rake looked up for a moment, she shook her head, taking the odd noise to be simply something of the wind. Leon’s moaning became louder and louder until Rocco could scarcely take it.
“Please, Little Leaf. If I had a true heart and not simply a core of wood, your agony would break it apart. I do not think I shall be able to stand much more of your pain. Perhaps I could find a way to help you.” And so, Rocco began to think of possible ways to relieve the poor little leaf from his pain. “Maybe if I were to dig myself into the ground, then you could crawl off as the human lifted me up once again.” At this, Leon simply laughed.
“How is it that you will dig yourself into the ground if you cannot move without the human to guide you? That will surely not work.” Rocco agreed and tried his hardest to think of other ways to set Leon free. Before he could think of a feasible plan, however, the human took matters into her own hands. She had noticed Leon stuck on one of her rake’s metal prongs and was reaching down to remove him. “Finally,” said the little leaf. “I may be free.”
“Goodbye Little Leaf. I am glad that we became friends. I wish you the best of luck and perhaps we shall meet again someday.” Rocco said merrily. At that moment, the young woman pulled Leon from Rocco’s prong, ripping him apart in the process and simply tossing him to the wind. Rocco was stunned to silence as he watched the remaining bits of his companion soar away with the wind.
‘No, perhaps I would not like to make friends with another leaf.’ Rocco thought, remembering the pain of watching his only friend thrown in pieces to the wind. As Rocco thought about his experience with Leon the leaf, he would have smiled had he had a mouth.
‘At least now, my Little Leaf is free.’[/glow]
