Trixie Thompson concludes that the only way she could save her sister from dying of the "white plague" is by preventing the autumn leaves from falling. Little Trixie knows all this because she had heard her elders say that those troubled with weak lungs usually begin to suffer and probably die when the leaves begin to fall. Winifred, Trixie's older sister, is on the verge of contracting tuberculosis. Tlie little girl loves her sister too much to let her die, so one night she steals into the garden in her "nightie" and fastens the fallen leaves with twine and hangs them up on the trees. Trixie keeps a rigid vigil for months and all the leaves that fall in the garden are replaced on the trees. While Trixie busied herself with this metaphorical occupation, Dr. Earl Headley. a young lung specialist, discovers a serum which cures consumption. He is called in by the Thompsons and Winifred is soon brought back to health. The doctor not only restores her lungs but takes her heart. Little Trixie then permits the leaves to fall.