Many artists lived in the Greenwich Village area of New York.

Two young women named Sue and Johnsy shared a studio apartment at the top of a three-story building. Johnsy is an aspiring artist whose desire is to draw the Bay of Naples someday. In November, Johnsy becomes ill with pneumonia. Her illness lingers. Doctor said Sue that Johnsy had only one in ten chances of living. She becomes frail and loses hope of recovering. Outside her window is an old ivy vine tree on which only a few leaves remain. Johnsy has become so disheartened that she refuses to fight her way back to health and convinces herself that when the last leaf falls off the vine tree, she will die. Such fooshish thought started to pop up Johnsy's mind as her hope of living had been lost completely. It is the day of house calls for doctors, and the doctor tells Sue that if Johnsy is to get well, she must get her mind on something other than her sickness. Sue is worried; she goes downstairs and reveals her fears to Mr. Behrman, an old, unsuccessful artist who dreams of one day painting a masterpiece. Old Behrman was angered at such an idea of Johnsy's foolishness to die because leaves drop off a vine tree. Only one leaf remains on the vine tree now , and even Mr. Behrman is worried that tonight it will fall because of the heavy wind and rain. The next morning, when Sue and Johnsy looked out the window, the last leaf was still there. Everyday when she looked out of the window, the only majestic last leaf would be clinging to the tree proudly to restore Johnsy's hope. Johnsy thinks about her situation and convinces herself that fate caused the leaf to stay on the vine so that she would not die. With this change in attitude, Johnsy gradually gets well. The doctor comes and verifies Johnsy's recovery. The doctor also tells Sue that Mr. Behrman has pneumonia and is beyond help. He dies that same day. Later that day, Sue discovers how Mr. Behrman became ill. She tells Johnsy that on the stormy night when the last leaf was about to fall, Mr. Behrman took a ladder, climbed the wall, and painted a true masterpiecea picture of the last leaf.

It took Mr. Behrmans death for Johnsy to remain alive. Likewise, it was by the sacrifice of our Only Almighty God that we are set free from our sins, failures, lonliness, worries and dreadful diseases. So why should we lose hope just as Johnsy when we know that we have a mighty hope, our Lord Jesus Christ? One more interesting thing we can get from this story is that even we can be like the Last Leaf!!! People like Johnsy might watch us to get some kind of hope from us to restore their faith and lives.... We should be as the majestic last leaf which hung on the tree to lighten people's lives through Christ.