O. Henry was the pen name of William Sydney Porter (1862 - 1910), an American writer of outstanding short stories, known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization, and surprise endings.

"The Last Leaf" is the story of two female artists living together in Greenwich village. When one of them, Johnsy, becomes gravely ill with pneumonia, she becomes obsessed with counting the leaves on the ivy outside the window. As the weather gets colder and windier, the leaves fall one by one. Johnsy believes that when the last leaf falls, she will die. Her friend Sue and old Mr. Behrman, the artist who lives downstairs, try to talk her out of this dangerous notion....