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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.           ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨«%&
###&§%=«:¨                                          ¨:«=%§&###
###&§%=«:¨                                          ¨:«=%§&###
#&%«¨¨¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨¨¨«%&#
#§=««::::¨                                          ¨::::««=§#
##§§§%=«:¨                                          ¨:«=%§§§##