««««                             
                          «~~    ~~«                          
                        :~          ~:                        
##&$:«~... ............ :            : ............ ...~«:$&##
#&$:«~....              :~          ~:              ....~«:$&#
&$:«~.....                «~~    ~~«                .....~«:$&
$:«~......                   ««««                   ......~«:$
:«~.......                                          .......~«:
«~........ 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.          .......~«:
$:«~......                                          ......~«:$
&$:«~..... Now He Leaves As Soon  As He'S Awake And .....~«:$&
#&$:«~.... Falls Asleep As Soon  As  He Returns. We ....~«:$&#
##&$:«~... Are Left To Care  For  Us  And The House ...~«:$&##
###&$:«~.. And The  Orchard. But  It Is Hard And We ..~«:$&###
####&$:«~. Are   Distracted.   We   Are    Not   As .~«:$&####
###&$:«~.. Persistent  As Father  And  Quickly Fall ..~«:$&###
##&$:«~...           Behind In Our Duties.          ...~«:$&##
#&$:«~....                                          ....~«:$&#
&$:«~.....                                          .....~«:$&
$:«~......                                          ......~«:$
:«~.......                                          .......~«:
«~........                                          ........~«