««««                             
                          «--    --«                          
                        ^-          -^                        
*^«-...... ............ ^            ^ ............ ......-«^*
$*^«-.....              ^-          -^              .....-«^*$
§$*^«-....                «--    --«                ....-«^*$§
@§$*^«-...                   ««««                   ...-«^*$§@
#@§$*^«-..                                          ..-«^*$§@#
##@§$*^«-. The  River  That'S  Our  River  Makes  A .-«^*$§@##
#@§$*^«-.. Large Bend  Like  A  Scooping Hand And A ..-«^*$§@#
@§$*^«-... Decent  Days  Travel  North   From  That ...-«^*$§@
§$*^«-.... Stands Our House  In  The  Middle  Of  A ....-«^*$§
$*^«-..... Forgotten  Apple  Orchard.  Our House Is .....-«^*$
*^«-...... 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.          ......-«^*
$*^«-.....                                          .....-«^*$
§$*^«-....                                          ....-«^*$§
@§$*^«-...                                          ...-«^*$§@
#@§$*^«-..                                          ..-«^*$§@#
##@§$*^«-.                                          .-«^*$§@##