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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. #¶#@†;«:..
...:«;†@#¶ ¶#@†;«:...
....:«;†@# #@†;«:....
.....:«;†@ @†;«:.....
......:«;† †;«:......
.......:«; ;«:.......