====
=-- --=
*- -*
&%†*=-.... ............ * * ............ ....-=*†%&
@&%†*=-... *- -* ...-=*†%&@
#@&%†*=-.. =-- --= ..-=*†%&@#
##@&%†*=-. ==== .-=*†%&@##
###@&%†*=- -=*†%&@###
##@&%†*=-. 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. ....-=*†%&
@&%†*=-... ...-=*†%&@
#@&%†*=-.. ..-=*†%&@#
##@&%†*=-. .-=*†%&@##
###@&%†*=- -=*†%&@###
##@&%†*=-. .-=*†%&@##