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##£^:..... ~~~~ .....:^£##
#%%~...... ......~%%#
#£^::..... 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. .:~^%£####
####£%^~:. .:~^%£####
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