The
Last Leaf
an
O. Henry short story
retold
by Sandy Geiger
In a little district of New York
City called Greenwich Village , about 100 years
ago, lived two young ladies named Sue and Johnsy. You may think that Johnsy is
an odd name for a young lady but it is merely the nickname for Joanna. Greenwich Village was then—and still is—the area where
artists often choose to live.
Sue and Johnsy were each looking for
a cheap place to live. They happened to meet at a small restaurant. They
discovered that they both loved art, ethnic food and Greenwich
Village . Sue was from Maine and
was used to cold weather; Johnsy was from California
Mr. Pneumonia arrived in Greenwich Village and sought out the young, the old and
the weak. It did not take Mr. Pneumonia long to find Johnsy, who was not used
to the cold and windy weather. After his visit, she ended up in bed, weak, pale
and hardly able to move.
Of course, Sue called for the doctor
to come and make her friend well. However, the doctor said that Johnsy was very
ill and only had one chance in ten of recovering from her illness.
“Your friend has made up her mind
that she is not going to get well. Her only chance of recovering is if she
wants to get well. Is there anything that she really, really desires to do?”
Sue replied hesitantly, “Well, she
really wants to paint the Bay
of Naples
The doctor laughed at that idea and
wanted to know if she was interested in some young man. Sue did not think that
Johnsy was interested in any young man.
“Well then,” said the doctor, “if you
can get her to ask even one question about the latest clothing styles for
winter, I’ll promise you a one-in-five chance for her instead of one-in-ten.”
Comprehension questions:
1. Sue and Johnsy became
roommates. What were the bases for their decision to share an apartment?
2. What does the author mean when
he writes about “Mr. Pneumonia?”
3. What might have been the reason
that Johnsy did not want to get well?
Sue cried a lot after the doctor
left. Then she dried her eyes and went bravely into Johnsy’s room, whistling a
ragtime tune. Sue set up her art supplies so that she could work on a
pen-and-ink drawing that she was making to illustrate a magazine story. As she
was drawing the picture of a cowboy wearing elegant, horseshow-riding trousers
and a monocle, she heard a low sound coming from Johnsy’s bed.
Johnsy was looking out the window
and counting backwards: “Twelve, eleven, ten.” There was a pause, and then the
counting backwards continued: “Nine, eight, seven.” Sue looked out the window.
She couldn’t see anything to count. There was an empty yard and a brick house
with no windows. A very old vine was growing up the side of the brick house.
Almost all of the leaves from the vine had blown always because of the autumn
winds.
“What is it that you are counting,
Johnsy?” Sue asked tenderly.
Johnsy whispered, “Six. They are
falling more quickly now. There were almost one hundred three days ago. I have been
counting them even though it makes my head ache. There goes another one. There
are only five left now.”
“Whatever are you counting, Johnsy
dear? Please tell Susie.”
“I am counting the leaves on the ivy
vine,” responded Johnsy. “When all of leaves are gone, I will be gone, too.
Didn’t the doctor tell you that I am dying?”
“Johnsy, that is a bunch of
nonsense. What would the leaves on the ivy vine have to do with your getting
well? Why, the doctor just told me this morning that your chances of getting
better are… ten to one, Sue lied. “Try to drink some of this soup now and let
Susie get back to work to earn some money.”
“There goes another leaf. Now there
are only four left. I don’t want any soup. I just want to see the last leaf
fall before dark. Then I will go, also.”
“Oh, Johnsie,” said Sue. “Please keep
your eyes closed and do not look out the window until I am done drawing. I
promised to have these drawings ready by tomorrow morning and I need the
light.”
“Couldn’t you draw in the other
room?” Johnsy asked crossly.
“I want to be with you. And I don’t
want you to keep counting those stupid leaves,” responded Sue. “Try to sleep. I
need to go downstairs and ask our neighbor to be my model for the drawing I am
working on.”
Comprehension questions:
1. What did the vine leaves mean
to Johnsy?
2. Do you think Sue was afraid of
Johnsy’s counting the falling leaves?
3. Why was Sue going downstairs to
see their neighbor, old Behrman?
Their neighbor, old Behrman, was past
sixty and had a long, curly beard. He was an artist who wanted to paint a
masterpiece but had never done so. He earned a little money by posing as a
model for other artists. He drank a lot of vodka and talked and dreamed about
painting a masterpiece. He liked the two young ladies in the upstairs apartment
and watched over them to keep them safe.
Sue came and told Behrman about
Johnsy’s idea that she would die when the last leaf from the ivy vine fell to
the ground. Behrman became very angry and said that was a foolish idea. He said
at first that he would not be Sue’s model, but soon changed his mind and agreed
to model for her.
They went upstairs and found Johnsy
asleep. They looked out the window and saw that it had begun to snow. Sue
pulled down the window shade and pulled the curtains closed. After Sue finished
her drawing, old Behrman returned to his apartment and Sue fell asleep.
The next morning Johnsy demanded that
the curtains be opened and window shade be put up. There was still one leaf on
the vine. At the end of the day, the last leaf was still there, and on the
following morning, the last leaf was still there.
“You know, Susie, I think that last
leaf is still there to show me that I was being very wicked. I should not want
to die. Will you bring me some soup, now?” Johnsy requested.
After an hour had past, Johnsy said,
“Someday soon I am going to paint the Bay of Naples
The doctor came and was surprised to see how
Johnsy was getting better. He told Sue that their neighbor, Behrman, was very
sick and going to the hospital.
“Mr. Pneumonia’s got him in a tight
grip and he’s not going to let go”, the doctor said.
The next day the doctor gave Sue good
news about her friend, Johnsy.
“She is going to make it, thanks to
your good care. You have beaten Mr. Pneumonia.”
That afternoon Sue and Johnsy got sad
news about their neighbor, Behrman. He was ill for two days and then died in
the hospital. He had been found on the first day lying on the floor with all of
his clothes and his shoes wet and cold.
At first, no one could figure out how
he had gotten so wet and cold. Then they found a lantern beside a ladder leaned
against the brick wall outside. There were brushes and green and yellow paint
nearby.
“Look out the window, Johnsy. Do you
see why the last leaf hasn’t fallen? Behrman has painted his masterpiece! He
painted it on the wall the night the last leaf fell,” exclaimed Sue.
Comprehension questions:
1. Did Johnsy see a real leaf on
the vine when she demanded that the curtains be opened?
2. What did the “last leaf” teach
Johnsy?
3. Why did Behrman get pneumonia?
Questions for
deeper thought:
1. How did Sue
show her love to Johnsy?
2. How did
Behrman show his love for his neighbors?
3. How do you
show your love for others?