Noah was five years old, and he had a very big friend at the park. It was an old chestnut tree, with a wide trunk and long branches. Every afternoon after school, Noah and his dad went to say hello.
“Hi, tree!” Noah would say, and he'd give the trunk a little pat. In the summer, the chestnut tree was green and made cool, shady spots. But then fall came, and something began to change.
The leaves turned yellow, orange and the color of toast. Every afternoon, there were more leaves on the ground and fewer on the branches. One golden leaf floated down, spinning slowly, and landed in Noah's hand.
Noah looked at it seriously. Then he looked at the bare branches. “Dad, the tree is losing all its leaves,” he said. “Is it cold?”
Dad crouched down next to him and looked up, too. “What do you think we could do?” he asked. Noah thought and thought, holding the golden leaf between his fingers.
When he got cold at night, Mom tucked him in with his blanket. “I know!” he cried. “We'll make it a blanket of leaves!”
Noah grabbed his little basket and started gathering leaves. Big leaves and small ones, crunchy and soft, red and yellow. He laid them all around the trunk, one on top of another.
Dad helped with a little rake, and they laughed a lot. Shiny chestnuts peeked out between the leaves, like little brown buttons. At last, the tree had a round, puffy blanket all around its feet.
“Now it won't be cold,” Noah said happily. Then Dad told him a secret. “In the fall, trees get ready to sleep all winter long.
“They let go of their leaves to rest,” he went on, “and in spring, new ones grow.” And he explained that leaves on the ground keep the soil and roots warm.
The next day, Noah ran back to the park. The leaf blanket was still there, but something was moving underneath. Noah crouched down slowly and lifted one leaf with his finger.
Curled up in a little ball, a small round hedgehog was fast asleep. “Shh,” Noah whispered. “He's getting ready to sleep, too.” He tucked the hedgehog in again gently and said goodnight to the tree.
That night, Noah climbed into bed with a chestnut in his hand. Through the window, he could see the tree, peaceful under the moon. Mom tucked him in with his blanket, and Noah curled up like the hedgehog.
Goodnight, Noah…
