A Strange Crispy Leaf

I trotted down from the porch step onto the gravel. A brown, curled dry leaf was caught beneath the green garden hose. It rattled when the evening breeze stirred. Anything that rattles might be a snack. I wedged my nose under the rubber hose, nudged it aside, and clamped my jaws on the center of the leaf. CRUNCH. It did not taste like a cracker or sweet berries. It tasted like dry dirt and paper dust, but it made a loud, satisfying sound between my teeth. I crushed the crinkled edges into little brown flecks until my belly felt full of dry crunch.