--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And then there is that day when all…" description: "\"“And then there is that day when all around, all around you hear the dropping of the apples, one by one, from the trees. At first it is one here and one..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/ray-bradbury-75_ageing_and-then-there-is-that-day-when-all-arou_2212462.jpg" --- # And then there is that day when all around, all around you… ![“And then there is that day when all around, all around you hear the dropping of the apples, one by one, from the trees. At first it is one here and one there, and then it is three and then it is four and then nine and twenty, until the apples plummet like rain, fall like horse hoofs in the soft…” quote by Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/ray-bradbury-75_ageing_and-then-there-is-that-day-when-all-arou_2212462.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/ray-bradbury-75_ageing_and-then-there-is-that-day-when-all-arou_2212462.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/ray-bradbury-75_ageing_and-then-there-is-that-day-when-all-arou_2212462.jpg) > ““And then there is that day when all around, all around you hear the dropping of the apples, one by one, from the trees. At first it is one here and one there, and then it is three and then it is four and then nine and twenty, until the apples plummet like rain, fall like horse hoofs in the soft, darkening grass, and you are the last apple on the tree; and you wait for the wind to work you slowly free from your hold upon the sky, and drop you down and down. Long before you hit the grass you will have forgotten there ever was a tree, or other apples, or a summer, or green grass below, You will fall in darkness...”” [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The metaphor of falling apples illustrates inevitable decline and loss of awareness as one descends into darkness. **In simple terms:** Life can feel like a fall into the unknown. Key Takeaway Recognize and confront inevitable decline. Themes mortality inevitability awareness Mood somber philosophical Type literary poetic When to use this quote - aging - grief - terminal illness - career burnout Key Concepts existentialism symbolism Questions to Reflect On - What does the “last apple” symbolize for you? - How do you find meaning before the fall? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex endings. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ageing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ageing/) [Apples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apples/) [Apples Plummet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apples-plummet-4904236/) [Apples Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apples-trees-2748802/) [Autumn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autumn/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Dropping Apples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dropping-apples-4904234/) [First Apples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-apples-4904235/) [Green grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/green-grass/) [Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rain/) [Rain Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rain-fall-579328/) [Time passing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-passing/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ## Related quotes > [Girls Are like apples on trees. The best ones are at the top of the tree. The boys don't want to reach for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/girls-are-like-apples-on-trees-the-best-ones-are-at-the-top-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [GIRLS ARE LIKE APPLES ON TREES. THE BEST ONES ARE AT THE TOP OF THE TREE. THE BOYS DON'T WANT TO REACH FOR THE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/girls-are-like-apples-on-trees-the-best-ones-are-at-the-top-of-the-3/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Women are like apples on trees, the best ones are on the top of the tree. The men don't want to reach for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoheb/women-are-like-apples-on-trees-the-best-ones-are-on-the-top-of-the/) [Zoheb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoheb/) > [“On and on the rain will fall, Like tears from a star, like tears from a star On and on the rain will say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sting-police/on-and-on-the-rain-will-fall-like-tears-from-a-star-like-tears-from-a/) [Sting Police](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sting-police/) > [A pure drop of rain may fall on a beautiful water lily or on a dirty mud pond! This is exactly what happens when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/a-pure-drop-of-rain-may-fall-on-a-beautiful-water-lily-or-on-a-dirty/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Be still, sad heart, and cease repining; Behind the clouds the sun is shining; Thy fate is the common fate of all, Into each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/be-still-sad-heart-and-cease-repining-behind-the-clouds-the-sun-is/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Something always turns up. It always seems darkest before the dawn. When God closes a door he opens a window. All things happen for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/something-always-turns-up-it-always-seems-darkest-before-the-dawn/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [In the spring rain, the pond and the river become one. Into every life some rain must fall. Usually when your car windows are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/langston-hughes/in-the-spring-rain-the-pond-and-the-river-become-one-into-every-life/) [Langston Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/langston-hughes/) > [Into each life some rain must fall, some days must be dark and dreary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/into-each-life-some-rain-must-fall-some-days-must-be-dark-and-dreary/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [A rain will fall, but the dirt it tough A pot a cook but the food nah nuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/a-rain-will-fall-but-the-dirt-it-tough-a-pot-a-cook-but-the-food-nah/) [Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/) > [Never duck responsibility, its like running from the rain only to fall into the river.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farrah-gray/never-duck-responsibility-its-like-running-from-the-rain-only-to-fall/) [Farrah Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farrah-gray/) > [“Into each life, a little rain will fall. But everyone must suffer the sun burning down too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farahad-zama/into-each-life-a-little-rain-will-fall-but-everyone-must-suffer-the/) [Farahad Zama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farahad-zama/) > [Why do you think I'd like to be the rain? So that when I fall down ill surely fell on your lips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/missyrie/why-do-you-think-i-d-like-to-be-the-rain-so-that-when-i-fall-down-ill/) [Missyrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/missyrie/) > [Thy fate is the common fate of all; Into each life some rain must fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/thy-fate-is-the-common-fate-of-all-into-each-life-some-rain-must-fall/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Into every sunny life a little rain must fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/into-every-sunny-life-a-little-rain-must-fall/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) ## More by Ray Bradbury > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Do you ever read any of the books you burn?" He laughed. "That's against the law!" "Oh. Of course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/do-you-ever-read-any-of-the-books-you-burn-he-laughed-that-s-against/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [There's no reason to burn books if you don't read them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/there-s-no-reason-to-burn-books-if-you-don-t-read-them/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [We were put here as witnesses to the miracle of life. We see the stars, and we want them. We are beholden to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/we-were-put-here-as-witnesses-to-the-miracle-of-life-we-see-the-stars/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Remember, with writing, what you’re looking for is just one person to come up and tell you, 'I love you for what you do.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/remember-with-writing-what-you-re-looking-for-is-just-one-person-to/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [As a result of reading science fiction when I was eight, I grew up with an interest in music, architecture, city planning, transportation, politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/as-a-result-of-reading-science-fiction-when-i-was-eight-i-grew-up/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“You can’t learn to write in college. It’s a very bad place for writers because the teachers always think they know more than you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-can-t-learn-to-write-in-college-it-s-a-very-bad-place-for-writers/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [We're going to become the martians when we land there. When we explore and build communities, we become the martians. That's a wonderful destiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/we-re-going-to-become-the-martians-when-we-land-there-when-we-explore/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I wish you a wrestling match with your Creative Muse that will last a lifetime. ... I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-wish-you-a-wrestling-match-with-your-creative-muse-that-will-last-a/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [The library is the biggest cracker box factory in the world. The more you eat, the more you want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/the-library-is-the-biggest-cracker-box-factory-in-the-world-the-more/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [We travel for romance, we travel for architecture, and we travel to be lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/we-travel-for-romance-we-travel-for-architecture-and-we-travel-to-be/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I spent three days a week for 10 years educating myself in the public library, and it's better than college. People should educate themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-spent-three-days-a-week-for-10-years-educating-myself-in-the-public/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [If we try to deny the darkness in our souls then we'll become completely dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/if-we-try-to-deny-the-darkness-in-our-souls-then-we-ll-become/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [But remember that the Captain belongs to the most dangerous enemy to truth and freedom, the solid unmoving cattle of the majority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/but-remember-that-the-captain-belongs-to-the-most-dangerous-enemy-to/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) [Explore all 1,520 Ray Bradbury quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) ## More Ageing quotes > [“The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach ache Or the headaches I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-coming-down-with/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [“They were people whose lives were slow, who did not see themselves growing old, or falling sick, or dying, but who disappeared little by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/they-were-people-whose-lives-were-slow-who-did-not-see-themselves/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [People's opinions don't interfere with me. Ageing gracefully is supposed to mean trying not to hide time passing and just looking a wreck. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-moreau/people-s-opinions-don-t-interfere-with-me-ageing-gracefully-is/) [Jeanne Moreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-moreau/) > [“Ageing must be like wearing a heavy, itchy suit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-cardamone/ageing-must-be-like-wearing-a-heavy-itchy-suit/) [Tom Cardamone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-cardamone/) > [Ageing is, simply and clearly, the accumulation of damage in the body. That's all that ageing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-de-grey/ageing-is-simply-and-clearly-the-accumulation-of-damage-in-the-body/) [Aubrey de Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-de-grey/) > [“She has built her whole life on the foundation of beauty: each chiseled plane, each sloping dimple, each soft curve as crucial as keystones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/she-has-built-her-whole-life-on-the-foundation-of-beauty-each/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [“I've been 21 for many years now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-stafford/i-ve-been-21-for-many-years-now/) [Stewart Stafford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-stafford/) > [Age doesn't define maturity. Some people will never grow up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/age-doesn-t-define-maturity-some-people-will-never-grow-up/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ageing is so many different things, and cells being able to self-renew is part of the picture but not all of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-blackburn/ageing-is-so-many-different-things-and-cells-being-able-to-self-renew/) [Elizabeth Blackburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-blackburn/) > [Dying is a matter of slapstick and pratfalls. The ageing process is not gradual or gentle. It rushes up, pushes you over and runs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/dying-is-a-matter-of-slapstick-and-pratfalls-the-ageing-process-is/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [Anyone who stops learning is old — whether this happens at twenty or at eighty. Anyone who keeps on learning not only remains young…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/anyone-who-stops-learning-is-old-whether-this-happens-at-twenty-or-at/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [All of my friends are my age and we are all ageing at the same time. We talk about it and moan, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claudia-schiffer/all-of-my-friends-are-my-age-and-we-are-all-ageing-at-the-same-time/) [Claudia Schiffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claudia-schiffer/) > [You've got to get your head right about ageing. Taking care of diet and exercise and facing your fears about growing older will lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-garraway/you-ve-got-to-get-your-head-right-about-ageing-taking-care-of-diet/) [Kate Garraway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-garraway/) > [Ageing is very rare. We only see it in humans and laboratory animals and in zoo animals and in our pets. Basically, organisms that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-jay-olshansky/ageing-is-very-rare-we-only-see-it-in-humans-and-laboratory-animals/) [S. Jay Olshansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-jay-olshansky/) > [“Growing age can kill the beauty, not the style.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/growing-age-can-kill-the-beauty-not-the-style/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) [Browse all 311 Ageing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ageing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“And then there is that day when all around, all around you hear the dropping of the apples, one by one, from the trees. At first it is one here and one there, and then it is three and then it is four and then nine and twenty, until the apples plummet like rain, fall like horse hoofs in the soft, darkening grass, and you are the last apple on the tree; and you wait for the wind to work you slowly free from your hold upon the sky, and drop you down and down. Long before you hit the grass you will have forgotten there ever was a tree, or other apples, or a summer, or green grass below, You will fall in darkness...”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ray Bradbury" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/and-then-there-is-that-day-when-all-around-all-around-you-hear-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ageing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/and-then-there-is-that-day-when-all-around-all-around-you-hear-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/ray-bradbury-75_ageing_and-then-there-is-that-day-when-all-arou_2212462.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/ray-bradbury-75_ageing_and-then-there-is-that-day-when-all-arou_2212462.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d99/ray-bradbury-75_ageing_and-then-there-is-that-day-when-all-arou_2212462.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And then there is that day when all around, all around you hear the dropping of the apples, one by one, from…” — Ray Bradbury", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ray Bradbury", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“And then there is that day...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/and-then-there-is-that-day-when-all-around-all-around-you-hear-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/and-then-there-is-that-day-when-all-around-all-around-you-hear-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```