The
Last Leaf
(After
O.Henry)
O. Henry (1862-1910) is a well-known American short-story
writer. He had to earn his living from the age of fifteen and he
educated himself with the help of friends.
O. Henry knew people very well, especially the ordinary
people of New York. In his stories you can feel satirical criticism of the
American way of life. Most of his short stories are full of warm sympathy for
ordinary American people.
Part I
Sue
and Johnsy were poor artists who lived in a little New York district west of
Washington Square. They painted pictures which they hoped to sell. Their studio
was on the third floor of an old brick house.
They
became friends in May and decided to live together. In November Johnsy fell
ill. She lay in bed near the window and looked at the side of the next
brick house.
One
morning, the doctor asked Sue to come out into the corridor. “Your friend is
very ill, she has one chance in – let us say, ten,” he said, as he looked at
his clinical thermometer. “And that chance is for her to want to live. Your
little lady has decided that she’s not going to get well. I promise to
do all that I can, but you must help me. Let her think not of her illness,
but of some other things.”
After
the doctor had gone, Sue went into Johnsy’s room. Johnsy lay with her face
towards the window. Sue thought that she was sleeping. So she began a drawing
to illustrate a magazine story.
As
Sue was working she heard Johnsy counting. She went quickly to the bedside.
Johnsy’s eyes were open. She was looking out of the window and counting
something.
“Twelve,
she said, and a little later “eleven”, and then “ten”, and “nine”; and then
“eight” and “seven” almost together.
Sue
looked out of the window. What was there to count? There was only a yard and
the brick wall of the next house. And old-old ivy – vine was
growing on the brick wall. There were only a few leaves on it.
“What
is it, dear?” asked Sue.
“Six”
said Johnsy. “They’re falling faster now. Three days ago there were almost a
hundred. There goes another one. There are only five left now.”
“Five
what, dear? Tell me”
“Leaves
on the ivy-vine. When the last one falls I must go too. I’ve
known that for three days. Didn’t the doctor tell you?”
“Oh,
I never heard of such nonsense,” said Sue. “The doctor told me this
morning that your chances for getting well were ten to one! Try to take
some soup now and let me draw my pictures.”
“No,
I don’t want any soup. There are only four now. I want to see the last one fall
before it gets dark. Then I’ll go, too.”
“Johnsy,
dear,” said Sue, “will you promise me to keep your eyes shut, and not look out
of the window until I finish working? I need the light”
“Tell
me as soon as you have finished,” said Johnsy, shutting her eyes, and lying
white and still as a fallen statue, “because I want to see the last one fall.”
“Try
to sleep,’ said Sue. “I must call Behrman up to be my model.”
Part
II
Old
Behrman was a painter who lived on the ground floor in the same house. He was
over sixty. Behrman was a failure in art, but he still hoped to paint a
masterpiece. He earned a little by serving as a model to those young
painters who could not pay the price of a professional.
Sue
found Behrman in his little room. She told him about Johnsy’s illness. “She
thinks that she will die when the last leaf falls from the old ivy-vine
on the wall of the next house.”
When
Johnsy open her eyes the next morning, yet stood out against the brick
wall one yellow and green ivy leaf. It was the last on the vine.
“It
is the last one,” said Johnsy. “I thought it would fall during the
night. I heard the wind. It will fall today, and I shall die at the same
time.”
The
day came to its end and even in the evening there was still one leaf on
the ivy-vine. Then with the coming of the night, the north wind began to
blow again, the rain beat against the windows.
In
the morning, the girls looked out of the window. The one ivy leaf was
still on the vine.
Johnsy
lay for a long time looking at it. And then she called to Sue and said, “I’ve
been a bad girl. Something has made that last leaf stay there to show
that we must always hope for the best. You may bring me a little soup now, and
some milk.”
An
hour later, she said, “Sue, some day I hope to paint a beautiful picture.”
The
doctor came in the afternoon. In the corridor he said to Sue, “She is much
better now, she’s getting well. Now I must see old Behrman on the ground
floor, some kind of a painter, I believe. Pneumonia, too. He’s an old man.
There is no hope for him; but he goes to the hospital today. He’ll be more
comfortable there.”
The
next day, the doctor said to Sue, “She’s out of danger. You’ve won. Good
food and care now – that’s all.”
That
afternoon Sue came to the bed where Johnsy lay.
“I
have something to tell you, dear,” she said. “Mr. Behrman died of pneumonia
today in the hospital. He was ill only two days. He was found helpless
in his room in the morning of the first day. His shoes and clothing were
wet and he was very cold. They also found a lamp and a ladder in the
room, some brushes and some yellow and green paints. Now look out of the
window, dear, at the last ivy leaf on the wall. Do you know why it never
moved when the wind blew? Ah, dear, it’s Behrman’s masterpiece – he painted
it there the night that the last leaf fell.”
Vocabulary
|
leaf (leaves) – лист (листья)
brick – кирпич
decide – решать
ordinary – простой
to feel (felt) – чувствовать
artist – художник
to paint – красить, рисовать
ivy-vine – плющ
nonsense – вздор
still – неподвижный
fall(fell-fallen)
– падать
fall ill – заболеть
|
to earn his living – зарабатывать на жизнь
Illness – болезнь
ladder – лестница
failure – неудачник
masterpiece –шедевр
get well – выздоравливать
pneumonia – воспаление лёгких
danger – опасность
helpless – беспомощный
clothing – одежда
brushes – кисти
|
Questions for discussion of the text:
1.
What were Sue and Johnsy?
2.
When did they become friends? Why?
3.
What happened to Johnsy?
4.
What did the doctor advise Sue to
do? Why?
5.
What did Johnsy count? Why?
6.
Was Sue a real friend? Why?
7.
What was Behrman?
8.
What did Behrman do that helped Johnsy
to get well?
9.
Can you call Behrman’s last
painting a masterpiece in art? Why?
10. What is the main idea of the story from your point of
view? Give your arguments.
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