,:«†*%#### ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%%%## ##%%%*†«:,
,:«†*%%### ###%%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### , , , ####%*†«:,
,,,««***%# , , , , , , #%***««,,,
,:«†*%#### : : : : : : : : ####%*†«:,
,,,,::†%## « « « « « « « « « « « ##%†::,,,,
,:«†*%#### †††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††† ####%*†«:,
,,,:««*### ###*««:,,,
,:«†*##### just off the coast to the baltic sea #####*†«:,
,,,,:::†%# there's a freshwater pond, secluded #%†:::,,,,
,:«†*%#### among ashen and juniper. a cleft in the ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### limestone bedrock, sharp-cut from the ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### surrounding plains, a ninety degree ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### drop down, down, to the midnight-black ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### water. ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### ««««********«««« ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### ««** **«« ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### «««««** fairies live here. **««««« ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### ««** **«« ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### ««««********«««« ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### they speak to the sloane, caress it, ####%*†«:,
,,,,««««*# urge it to grow thicker, tangled, with #*««««,,,,
,,,,,,,«*# longer and sharper thorns. they tell it #*«,,,,,,,
,,,,,«†*## to stay just below the grass, so that ##*†«,,,,,
,:«*%##### the animals what come to drink the #####%*«:,
,,,:::«*## water cannot see it before it draws ##*«:::,,,
,,:::::†%# their blood. closer to the pond, the #%†:::::,,
,:«†*%#### sloane can grow taller, being able to ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### hide also in the juniper. ####%*†«:,
,,,,:«†%## ##%†«:,,,,
,:«†*%#### the fairies will beckon the animals to ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### push forward, tell them that they're ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### almost at the water, that they may ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### drink soon. and they will tug on the ####%*†«:,
,,,,,,«*## sloane to make sure that the thorns cut ##*«,,,,,,
,:«†*%#### deep. when they finally find the path ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### down between the rocks, away from the ####%*†«:,
,,,:«««†*# bushwork and into the cleft, they are #*†«««:,,,
,:«*%##### bleeding from a thousand wounds. as #####%*«:,
,,,,:†*### they drink from the dark water, it is ###*†:,,,,
,:«†*%#### in turn drinking the animals blood. ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%%%## ##%%%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### the circle is complete, the contract ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### carried out; the animal is abandoned to ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### find its own way back. the bushes roots ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%%%## drink the nutrutious water. the fairies ##%%%*†«:,
,,,,,:†%## dance in the sunbeams. ##%†:,,,,,
:«†*%##### #####%*†«:
,:«†*%#### †††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††† ####%*†«:,
,,:«†††%## « « « « « « « « « « « ##%†††«:,,
,,,,,,«†%# : : : : : : : : #%†«,,,,,,
,:«†*%#### , , , , , , ####%*†«:,
,,,:«††%## , , , ##%††«:,,,
,:«†*%%%## ##%%%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### ####%*†«:,
,:«†*%#### ####%*†«:,
,«†*%##### #####%*†«,