----
-^^ ^^-
*^ ^*
##$%*^.... ............ * * ............ ....^*%$##
####$%*-^. *^ ^* .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. -^^ ^^- .^-*%$####
#%-^...... ---- ......^-%#
####$%*-^. .^-*%$####
#%%-^..... The River That'S Our River Makes A .....^-%%#
####$%*-^. Large Bend Like A Scooping Hand And A .^-*%$####
###%--^^.. Decent Days Travel North From That ..^^--%###
####$%*-^. Stands Our House In The Middle Of A .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. Forgotten Apple Orchard. Our House Is .^-*%$####
#####%*-^. Built Of Dark Clay And Abandoned By A .^-*%#####
#$$*----^. Stranger. The Window Has No Glass But .^----*$$#
#$*^...... Instead Steel Bars To Keep The Animals ......^*$#
####$%*-^. Out. .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. Around The House Is A Thick, Thick .^-*%$####
#####%*-^. Brush Of Ferns And Bushes. There Live .^-*%#####
####$%*-^. The Animals That We Fight To Keep Away, .^-*%$####
##$*--^^^. For They Speak To Us To Join Them In .^^^--*$##
####$%*-^. The Luscious Caves Below Ground. They .^-*%$####
#$%--..... Mean No Harm But It Is Not In Our Best .....--%$#
#$*^...... Interest To Do So. There Is Important ......^*$#
####$%*-^. Work That Needs To Be Done, And It Cant .^-*%$####
#%%-...... Be Done By Animals. (Father Says This.) ......-%%#
####$%*-^. .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. Every Morning Our Father Clears The .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. Ferns And Uproots The Bushes Only For .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. Them To Grow Back Each Night. Their .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. Leaves Are Teal, White And Yellow, Some .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. Even The Color Of Wine. They Have Lilac .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. Flowers And In The Morning They Are Wet .^-*%$####
##%---^... With Dew. ...^---%##
####$%*-^. .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. Father Is Away During The Day Doing .^-*%$####
#$*^...... Important Things Elsewhere. He Is Weary ......^*$#
#####%*-^. When He Returns Home, Each Day More So .^-*%#####
#$*^...... Than The Next. We Learn To Cook For Him ......^*$#
####$%*-^. So That He Does Not Have To. We Tend To .^-*%$####
#$$%-..... His Clothes. .....-%$$#
####$%*-^. .^-*%$####
###$%%*-^. Suddenly The Dense Bushwork Is Mirrored .^-*%%$###
####$%*-^. Inside. Stems And Leaves Appear Close .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. To The Walls And Far From The Light. We .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. Are Glad, For The Flowers Are Beautiful .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. And Smell Good, And There Is Little .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. Decoration In Our House. But When .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. Father Comes Home He Is Angry And Cuts .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. Them All Down In A Frenzy. We Are .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. Scared Of Him Then. .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. .^-*%$####
#%%**^.... We Are Then Tasked With Removing Any ....^**%%#
#$%-^^.... Indoor Plant We See. But They Are So ....^^-%$#
##%-^..... Beautiful! We Wait Just Until Father .....^-%##
####$%*-^. Comes Home And Until Then We Enjoy .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. Them. Sometimes An Animal Will Sneak In .^-*%$####
#$*^...... But We Always Shoo Them Out. With Fresh ......^*$#
####$%*-^. Cut Flowers Thrown Right Outside The .^-*%$####
##%%*^^... House He Suspects And Resents Our ...^^*%%##
##$$%**-^. Inaction. But He Doesn'T Have The .^-**%$$##
####$%*-^. Energy To Scold Us. He Weakens Quickly. .^-*%$####
###$$%*-^. It Is Not Long Before He Is Still Tired .^-*%$$###
###$$%*-^. Even In The Morning And Must .^-*%$$###
####$%*-^. Reluctantly Leave The Outdoor Weed .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. Cutting To Us As Well, Untrusting That .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. We Will Carry It Out. .^-*%$####
##%****-^. .^-****%##
####$%*-^. Now He Leaves As Soon As He'S Awake And .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. Falls Asleep As Soon As He Returns. We .^-*%$####
####$%*-^. Are Left To Care For Us And The House .^-*%$####
##$$**^... And The Orchard. But It Is Hard And We ...^**$$##
##%---^... Are Distracted. We Are Not As ...^---%##
####$%*-^. Persistent As Father And Quickly Fall .^-*%$####
##$%%-^... Behind In Our Duties. ...^-%%$##
###$%**-^. .^-**%$###
#$%%***-^. .^-***%%$#
#$%%*-^^^. .^^^-*%%$#
#%-....... .......-%#
####$%*-^. .^-*%$####