====
=-- --=
^- -^
#&%*^=-... ............ ^ ^ ............ ...-=^*%
&%*^=-.... ^- -^ ....-=^*%&
%*^=-..... =-- --= .....-=^*%
*^=-...... ==== ......-=^*
^=-....... .......-=^
=-........ 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. .....-=^*%
&%*^=-.... ....-=^*%&
#&%*^=-... ...-=^*%
##&%*^=-.. ..-=^*%#
###&%*^=-. .-=^*%##
####&%*^=- -=^*%###