»»»»
»^^ ^^»
=^ ^=
.....^»=*$ ............ = = ............ $*=»^.....
......^»=* =^ ^= *=»^......
.......^»= »^^ ^^» =»^.......
........^» »»»» »^........
.......^»= =»^.......
......^»=* The River That'S Our River Makes A *=»^......
.....^»=*$ 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 $*=»^.....
......^»=* Persistent As Father And Quickly Fall *=»^......
.......^»= Behind In Our Duties. =»^.......
........^» »^........
.......^»= =»^.......
......^»=* *=»^......
.....^»=*$ $*=»^.....
....^»=*$¤ ¤$*=»^....